TO  -DMi 


BY 


TAMESA.B.SCHERER 


Mi»A 


pISiUk* 


JAPAN  TO-DAY 


FO  UB  TH  EDITION. 


By  JAMES  A.  B.  SCHERER,  Ph.D. 


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BY 

JAMES  A.  B.  SCHERER,  Ph.D. 

Formerly  Teacher  of  English  in  the  Government  School  at  Saga, 

Japan  j    Now  President  of  Newberry  College,   South 

Carolina  ;    Author  of  "  Four  Princes  ;  or, 

The  Growth  of  a  Kingdom" 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  LONDON 
J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT     COMPANY 

1905 


y% 


Copyright,  1904 
By  J.   B.   LippiNCOTT  Company 


Published  April,  1904 


EUctrotyped  and  Printed  by 
y.  B.  Lippincott  Company^  Philadelphia^   U.  S.  ji. 


TO 

THE    BRIDE    OF    YAMAGUCHI 

AND 

A    LITTLE    SAGA    MAID 

BESSIE  AND  ISABEL 

WITH    LOVE 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  The   Cynosure    11 

The  Hermit  becomes  a  Hero — The  Educational 
Progress  of  Japan — The  Military  Progress  of 
Japan  and  a  Comparison  with  Russia — A  View 
of  Japan  To-Day. 

II.  Sunrise-Land    27 

The  Name  of  Japan — Sunrise  means  Beauty: 
The  Beauty  of  Kamakura,  Enoshima,  Nikko 
— Sunrise  means  Mystery:  Earthquakes,  Tidal 
Waves,  and  Volcanoes — Sunrise  means  Light: 
Civilization  and  Christianity;  or,  Manners 
versus  Morals. 

III.  Views  Awheel   55 

T6ky5  in  the  Rain — A  Jinrikisha  Ramble — 
The  Wheelman's  Paradise— Bishop  Potter  at 
Nagasaki. 

IV.  Glimpses  of  Home  Life  83 

In  a  Japanese  Home— The  Children— Festivals 
and  Myths — The  Women — Christian  Wedlock, 
so-called. 

V.  The  Awful  Japanese  Language 117 

What  it  is  Not — Honorifics — Chinese  Complica- 
tions—The Blunders  of  Beginners— "  Why  I 
Study  English." 

7 


535  f)  8 1 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

\'  I.  Sermoxs  Garnished  with  Smiles 143 

The  Buddhist  at  Church — A  Sermon  on  the 
Chief  End  of  Man — Tales  from  Japanese 
Folk-Lore — A  Specimen  of  Oriental  Humor — 
Religions  Old  and  New. 

VII.  Life  in  the  South   175 

The  Island  of  Kyushu — A  Calm  Succeeded  by 
a  Storm — The  Land  of  the  Unknown  Fire — 
A  Sketch  of  Saga — Life  in  a  Japanese  School 
— Side-Lights  on  "  Demoniacal  Possession." 

VIII.  The  People  of  the  North  201 

The  Aborigines  of  Japan — Ainu  Characteristics 
— King  Penri — Strenuous  Pastimes — The  Spir- 
itual Traditions  of  a  Primitive  People. 

IX.  Japanese  Traits  223 

Topsy-Turvydom — Negative  Traits:  The  Con- 
tempt for  Time,  the  Absence  of  Nerves,  Want 
of  Sympathy,  and  Lack  of  Confidence — Posi- 
tive Traits:  Frugality,  Politeness,  and  Industry 
— The  Japanese  and  Chinese  contrasted. 

X.  An  Opener  of  Gates 255 

The  Personality  of  G.  F.  Verbeck— His  Life 
Story  the  History  of  Modern  Japan — The 
Need  for  Men  to  Succeed  Him. 

XI.  The  Gates  of  Asia;    or,  the  Larger  Meaning 

OF  the  War 283 

Palestine  and  Japan:  "The  Circuit  of  the 
Heavens" — The  Vast  Importance  of  Asia  and 
the  Present  Problem  of  China — Russia  versus 
Japan:  The  Political  Argument  for  Missions 
— Reasons  why  Japan  may  Win  this  War. 

8 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


"  Japan   To-Day"    Frontispiece. 

The  Great  Buddha  at  Kamakura   16 

Land  of  the  Sunrise  Beauty    30 

Peasants  Transplanting  Rice   33 

Fuji,  the  ^Mountain  King    34 

Mother  and  Child   48 

Japanese  Landscape  Gardening  60 

Rain-Coats  made  of  Straw   63 

A   Family   Journey    70 

A  Walking  Conservatory   72 

Typical  Country  Scene — a  Tea  Plantation  76 

The  Mid-day  Meal   88 

The  Empress  in  Western  Dress  94 

Japanese  Girls  and  Women    104 

A  Wedding  in  Old  Japan    112 

Good-Night ! 114 

Buddhist    Priests    146 

Around   the   Brazier    163 

A  Nagasaki  Buddhist  Temple   168 

Boy   Acrobats    183 

Southern   School-girls    192 

Ainu  Man  and  Wife  216 

Carpenters  at  Work    226 

The  Blind  Shampooer  236 

A  Scene  near  Nagasaki    262 

Two  Brothers  of  Old  Japan   270 

Gates  of  the  Palace  at  Tokyd 286 

Japan   at  War    316 

9 


THE   CYNOSURE 


^  The  Hermit  becomes  a  Hero — . 
The  Educational  Progress  of 
Japan — The  Mihtary  Progress 
of  Japan  and  a  Comparison  with 
Russia — A  View  of  Japan  To- 
Day 


JAPAN    TO-DAY 


The  Cynosure 

It  is  only  a  little  country,  being  smaller 
than  the  State  of  California.  Only  a  twelfth 
of  its  land  is  arable, — that  is  to  say,  scarcely 
more  than  the  territory  of  our  own  little 
Maryland.  It  has  a  few  mines  of  coal  and 
copper  and  iron,  with  less  of  silver  and  gold. 
It  lies  off  the  central  eastern  coast  of  the 
vast  continent  of  Asia,  a  narrow  crescent, 
bent  like  Diana's  bow, — shaped  like  the 
rising  moon,  and  named  for  the  Rising  Sun, 
— ^bending  as  far  as  it  can  towards  the  west. 
It  is  only  a  little  country,  filled  with  forty 
millions  of  little  brown  people,  but  it  is  the 
cynosure  of  the  eyes  of  all  nations.  For 
exactly  fifty  years  has  this  been  true.  In 
1854  Commodore  Perry  opened  it,  a  veri- 
table box  of  curios  for  the  Western  world, 
whose  curiosity  for  its  contents  has  seemed 
insatiable.  In  1894  curiosity  deepened  into 
wonder,  when  this  little  bow-shaped  country 

13 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

suddenly  pierced  the  rusty  mail  of  China 
with  the  swift,  sharp  arrow  of  war,  and  made 
that  dozing  giant  rub  his  eyes.  In  1904 
wonder  has  become  amazement,  as  Japan  has 
undertaken  to  celebrate  her  fiftieth  jubilee 
of  enfranchisement  among  the  nations  by  a 
doughty  wrestling  match  with  the  colossal 
Slav, — a  pygmy  gone  out  against  a  giant. 

How  can  these  things  be?  How  has  it 
been  possible  for  a  nation  apparently  to  be 
born  in  a  day,  suddenly  emerging  from 
sheer  Oriental  hermitage  to  become  the 
cynosure  of  every  eye?  What  accounts  for 
Japan's  rapid  development  from  a  curio-box 
to  a  world-power,  so  that  to-day  she  is  rightly 
entitled  to  be  called  the  gate  to  the  Orient? 
The  answer  is  in  one  word:  Education. 

But  education  predicates  two  things:  ad- 
vantages and  ability.  It  is  of  no  use  to 
bring  opportunity  to  a  man  unless  he  has 
the  grasp  which  will  enable  him  to  seize  it 
by  the  forelock.  Culture  will  avail  him 
nothing  unless  he  has  capacity,  just  as  land 
must  have  native  fertility  before  it  will  re- 
spond to  cultivation.  The  mental  soil  of  the 
Japanese  has  had  a  rapid  receptivity  with- 
out parallel  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

For  five  years  I  taught  Japanese  students. 

14i 


THE    CYNOSURE 

Simply  as  students,  they  are  ideal.  I  can 
see  them  now,  as  they  sat  there,  apparently 
so  stoical,  so  Easternly  impassive.  But 
those  sleepy-looking  eyes  were  wide  awake. 
Their  minds  were  drinking  with  a  thirst  that 
could  never  be  quenched.  And  when  the 
next  day  came,  they  had  digested  the  lesson 
of  the  day  before,  in  every  atom,  and  were 
clamoring  with  a  hundred  questions  for 
more.  I  do  not  say  that  they  are  an  origina- 
tive race;  in  a  subsequent  chapter  I  shall 
show  that  they  are  not.  But  I  repeat  that 
for  quick  receptiveness  and  rapid,  thorough 
assimilation  of  mental  food  they  are  un- 
paralleled. 

In  the  seventh  chapter  of  this  volume  I 
shall  sketch  the  actual  experiences  of  an 
American  teacher  in  a  modern  Japanese 
school;  while  in  the  tenth  chapter  we  shall 
trace  the  rapid  transition  of  Japan  from  the 
darkness  of  mediaeval  feudalism  to  the  en- 
lightenment of  the  Western  world.  For  the 
present  we  need  just  a  clear  notion  of  the 
educational  methods  which  have  made  the 
Japan  of  To-Day. 

The  history  of  the  Japanese  people  falls 
into  three  great  divisions :  First,  the  infancy 
of  the  race,  extending  from  prehistoric  times 

15 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

into  the  third  century  of  the  Christian  era; 
secondly,  the  period  of  Chinese  culture,  be- 
ginning with  the  alleged  introduction  of 
letters  in  the  year  284,  and  continuing  for 
fifteen  centuries;  and,  finally,  the  period  of 
European  culture,  which  began,  as  has  been 
already  noted,  so  recently  as  18.54.  Until 
this  modern  epoch  introduced  the  Japan  of 
To-Day,  the  educational  influences  had  been 
directed  wholly  by  Buddhism.  "  All  educa- 
tion," as  Professor  Chamberlain  has  said, 
"  was  for  centuries  in  Buddhist  hands.  Bud- 
dhism introduced  art,  introduced  medicine, 
moulded  the  folk-lore  of  the  country,  cre- 
ated its  dramatic  poetry,  deeply  influenced 
politics  and  every  sphere  of  social  and  intel- 
lectual activity.  In  a  word,  Buddhism  was 
the  teacher  under  whose  instruction  the  Jap- 
anese nation  grew  up." 

Now,  as  everybody  knows.  Buddhism  is  a 
singularly  impassive  and  impersonal  re- 
ligion. One  has  only  to  study  the  face  of 
the  Great  Buddha,  as  presented  in  an  illus- 
tration in  this  volume,  to  understand  the 
essence  of  Buddhistic  teaching,  which  means 
self-repression,  self-effacement,  personal 
nihilism.  Lanier  sings,  in  his  poem  of  "  The 
Crystal,"— 

16 


r. 
C 
c 
(-1- 

W 


c  t    t 


THE    CYNOSURE 

"  So,  Buddha,  beautiful !    I  pardon  thee 
That  all  the  All  thou  hadst  for  needy  man 
Was  Nothing,  and  thy  Best  of  being  was 
But  not  to  be." 

Doubtless  the  greatest  conquest,  when  all 
the  odds  are  considered,  that  the  great  re- 
Hgion  of  India  has  ever  made  was  its  intel- 
lectual conquest  of  the  Japanese.  For  a 
race  less  responsive  by  nature  to  such  a  doc- 
trine can  scarcely  be  imagined.  They  are  in- 
tensely active,  alert,  individual;  but,  in  obe- 
dience to  the  commands  of  the  Great  NihiHst, 
they  covered  their  impetuous,  fiery  natures 
with  the  crust  of  a  repression  that  ill-befitted 
them,  thorough-going  Tatars  as  they  are. 

All  the  more  intense  for  this  age-long  re- 
pression was  the  activity  that  immediately 
ensued  when  the  crust  was  broken,  finally, 
in  1854.  The  Japanese  is  a  born  Yankee; 
monastic  fife  does  not  become  him.  He  had 
needed,  however,  precisely  that  strong  self- 
control  that  came  from  the  schooling  of 
Buddhism.  He  now  realized  with  the  flash 
of  instinct  that  he  had  finally  come  into  his 
own.  The  ozone  of  the  West  filled  his  lungs. 
He  breathed  full  and  deep,  then  leaped  with 
great  bounds  straight  into  the  thick  of  things. 

The  first  thing  that  he  did  was  to  resolve  to 
2  17 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

educate  himself  in  the  ways  of  this  new  hfe 
to  which  he  was  so  instantaneously  respon- 
sive. In  the  tenth  chapter  we  shall  see  in 
a  general  way  how  this  was  done.  They 
sent  an  emhassy  around  the  world,  to  get 
the  hest  that  every  nation  had  to  give!  In 
that  same  year  the  Emperor  gave  forth  the 
startlingly  ambitious  declaration:  "It  is  in- 
tended that  henceforth  education  shall  be  so 
diffused  that  there  may  not  be  a  village  with 
an  ignorant  family,  or  a  family  with  an 
ignorant  member."  And  his  intention  has 
been  amazingly  fulfilled.  A  distinguished 
British  journalist  wrote,  a  few  years  ago, 
"It  is  so  rare  a  thing  to  find,  even  in  the 
lowest  class,  a  man  or  w^oman  who  cannot 
read  and  write  that  I  have  no  doubt  the 
proportion  of  illiteracy  is  higher  in  Birm- 
ino'ham  or  in  Boston  than  it  is  in  Tokyo." 
The  figures  are  almost  incredible,  but  in  less 
than  twenty  years  the  number  of  pupils 
enrolled  in  the  Japanese  schools  increased 
more  than  three  million  per  cent.  There  are 
now  enrolled  in  the  various  schools  of  Japan 
more  than  four  and  a  quarter  million  of 
pupils  out  of  a  total  population  of  some 
forty  million.  The  government  expends  for 
this  work  annuall}^  not  less  than  forty  million 

18 


THE    CYNOSURE 

yen  (twenty  million  dollars) ,  and  the  various 
mission  agencies  add  their  thousands.  Japan 
undertook  an  immense  task  when  the  Em- 
peror issued  his  notable  declaration  in  1872. 
"  That  Japan  has  not  miserably  failed,  but 
has  succeeded  in  producing  in  thirty  years  a 
result  which  Russia,  for  example,  still  waits 
to  attempt,  marks  her  as  worthy  of  a  great 
future," — so  writes  Mr.  Lewis  in  his  recent 
work,  "The  Educational  Conquest  of  the 
Far  East." 

Mr.  Lewis  quotes  an  eminent  Japanese 
educator  as  saying  that  when  Japan  reached 
out  for  Western  ideas  she  copied  her  navy 
from  Great  Britain,  her  army  from  France, 
her  medical  science  from  Germany,  and  her 
educational  system  from  America.  But  Mr. 
Henry  Norman  declares  that  the  educational 
system  of  Japan  is  a  characteristic  attempt 
to  combine  in  one  system  the  Board  Schools 
of  England,  the  High  Schools  of  America, 
the  Normal  Schools  of  France,  and  the  Uni- 
versities of  Germany.  Both  are  right. 
Japan  chose  America  for  her  general  plan, 
but  went  to  other  countries  for  specifications. 
The  result  is  an  elaborate  system  embracing 
five  departments:  (1)  The  Kindergartens, 
for  very  young  children;    (2)  Elementary 

19 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

Schools,  which  in  turn  are  in  several  separate 
grades;  (3)  Middle  Schools,  of  two  classes, 
the  Ordinary  and  the  Higher;  (4)  Special 
Schools,  the  name  being  self-explanatory; 
and  ( 5 )  the  great  University  at  Tokyo,  with 
two  thousand  five  hundred  students,  the 
highest  standards  of  scholarship,  and  famous 
teachers  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe. 

"  College  faculties  know  the  country  boy 
who  enters  with  insufficient  preparation,  but 
has  accomplished  such  results  as  he  could  by 
sheer  power  of  will  and  force  of  mind.  The 
progress  of  such  a  boy  when  he  finally  comes 
under  competent  instructors  is  exhilarating. 
He  advances  by  leaps,  until  almost  before 
his  class  realizes  it  he  is  an  acknowledged 
leader.  In  the  great  college  of  the  nations, 
Japan  is  that  boy."  So  writes  the  editor  of 
the  Youth's  Comjpanion.  But  Japan  has 
done  more  than  that.  This  rustic,  unlettered 
boy,  the  minute  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
world,  made  a  flying  visit  to  all  the  great 
schools  within  reach;  then  w^ent  back  home, 
huilt  his  own  school,  and  in  a  trice  had  caught 
up  with  the  others.  There  is  nothing  like  it 
in  the  history  of  the  world.  Little  wonder 
that  Japan  is  conceited ! 


20 


THE    CYNOSURE 

Japanese  progress  in  military  affairs  has 
equalled  these  civic  advances.  Mr.  Norman 
classes  the  military  advancement  of  Japan 
"among  the  modern  wonders  of  the  world. 
The  arsenal  of  Koishikawa  is  Woolwich  on 
a  smaller  scale,  with  a  hundred  rifles  and 
seventy  thousand  cartridges  for  its  day's 
work;  the  dockyard  at  Yokosuka  is  not  be- 
hind Woolwich  and  Portsmouth  in  much 
except  size,  and  first-rate  torpedo  boats  and 
the  most  elaborate  modern  ordnance  are 
turned  out  there  with  the  regularity  of  Arm- 
strong or  Krupp;  the  Armstrong  cruisers 
lying  off  Tokyo  Bay  are  among  the  finest 
vessels  of  their  class  afloat,  and  could  make 
matchwood  of  many  vessels  here,  and  they 
are  manned  and  officered  entirely  by  Japan- 
ese seamen ;  while  the  War  Department  has 
at  least  forty  thousand  men  under  arms  at 
this  moment,  and  on  a  declaration  of  war 
could  put  one  hundred  thousand  troops  of 
all  arms,  and  perhaps  many  more,  in  the 
field,  with  weapons  equal  to  any  carried  to- 
day, all  of  whom  would  have  served  at  least 
a  year  with  the  colors,  and  the  majority  for 
three  years,  and  who  would  make  a  desperate 
fight  against  any  army  in  the  world.  Yet 
twenty-five  or  thirty  years   ago  Japanese 

21 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

soldiers  wore  huge,  grotesque  iron-mask 
helmets  to  frighten  the  enemy,  chain  and 
lacquer  armor  to  turn  his  blows,  their  great 
shoulder-cannon  would  have  been  antiquated 
in  England  at  the  time  of  the  Armada,  and 
they  were  led  by  a  man  with  a  fan!" 

Mr.  Norman  wrote  those  words  about  ten 
years  ago.  No  greater  proof  of  the  mar- 
vellous progress  that  is  being  made  by  the 
Japan  of  To-Day  could  possibly  be  given 
than  by  a  contrast  of  Mr.  Norman's  figures 
with  those  which  obtained  on  the  first  day  of 
January,  1904,  as  furnished  by  the  London 
Times,  Permanent  Army,  273,268.  Re- 
serve, 35,000.  Territorial  Army,  200,000. 
Grand  total,  508,268.  The  same  authorita- 
tive journal  reports  that  on  January  21, 
1904,  the  Russians  could  not  muster  as 
against  this  large  and  well-drilled  army 
more  than  150,000  men  and  266  guns,  and 
will  not  be  able  to  muster  more  than  200,000 
men  at  the  most.  Yet  Russia  has  been 
making  plans  for  martial  conquests  ever 
since  the  will  of  Peter  the  Great  was  made 
cogent  in  1725,  while  Japan  is  the  baby 
among  the  nations. 

It  will  be  interesting  also  to  compare  the 
available  naval  strength  of  the  two  com- 

22 


THE    CYNOSURE 

batants,  side  by  side.  For  these  figures  we 
are  indebted  to  the  London  Times.  (See 
pages  24  and  25.) 

The  following  pages  will  endeavor  to  pre- 
sent the  multifold  aspects  of  the  Japanese 
life  of  to-day.  I  have  aimed  to  make  a 
kaleidoscope.  Japan  is  notoriously  com- 
plex, and  I  leave  the  reader  to  unify  the 
subject,  if  he  can,  from  the  diverse  materials 
which  I  have  presented  as  faithfully  as  I 
knew  how.  If  my  book  presents  a  diversi- 
fied appearance,  then  I  can  only  say,  so 
does  Japan,  and  the  book  is  by  that  measure 
true.  Japan  is  the  key  to  the  Orient,  but  no 
one  has  ever  found  the  key  to  Japan.  What 
I  offer  is  a  sketch-book  of  views  of  that 
country  which  is  to-day  the  cynosure  of 
nations.  "  Sunrise-Land"  will  give  a  rapid 
survey  of  the  country  and  the  people  as  a 
whole,  unified  by  the  name  of  the  country. 
"Views  Awheel"  and  "Glimpses  of  Home 
Life"  will  take  us  from  the  bird's-eye  view 
to  glimpses  that  are  caught  at  closer  range. 
We  shall  take  just  a  side  wise  glance  at  the 
awful  language,  then  listen  to  the  humorous 
sermons  of  the  priests.  From  the  routine  of 
school  life  in  an  old  Southern  town  we  shall 

23 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 


THE  JAPANESE  NAVY 


Battleships 

Displace- 
ment 

In- 
dicated 
Horse- 
power 

Nominal 
Speed 

Gun 
Protection 

Weight 
of  Broad- 
side Fire 

Hatsuse   ) 

Asahi V 

Shikishima ) 

\f  i  L*  1  CO        

Tons 

15,000 

15,200 
12,300 

15,000 

16,000 
13,000 

Knots 

18"0 

18"0 
18"0 

Inches* 

12  (4),  6  (4) 

12  (4),  6  (14) 
12  (4),  6  (10) 

Lbs. 
4,240 
4  225 

Yashima I 

Fuji \ 

4,000 

Armored 
Cruisers 

Displace- 
ment 

In- 
dicated 
Horse- 
power 

Nominal 
Speed 

Gun 
Protection 

Weight 
of  Broad- 
side Fire 

Tokiwa ) 

Asama f 

Tons 
9,750 

9,850 

9,436 

9,800 

7.700 
7,700 

18,000 

16,000 

17,000 

15,000 

13,500 
13,500 

Knots 
21*5 

20  "0    \ 

21*0    -j 

247 

20*0    -j 
20'0 

Inches* 
8  (4),  6  (14) 

8  (4),  6  (12), 

3(12) 
8  (4).  6  (12). 

3(12) 

8  (4),  6  (14) 

10  (1),  8  (2), 

6(14) 
8  (4),  6  (14) 

Lbs. 

3,508 
[    3,368 

A  yniTiJi  .......>>•• 

j-    3,368 

Idzumo \ 

Iwate f 

N^iQ^Viin 

3,568 

\ 

IC^aciipro     

Protected 
Cruisers 


Takasago 

Kasagi 

Chitose 

Itsukushima  .. 
Hashidate 

Matsushima 

Yoshino   

Naniwa (. 

Takachiho \ 

Akitsushima 

Niitaka I 

Tsusliima f 

Suma ( 

Akashi ) 


Displace- 
ment 


Tons 
4,300 

4,784 

4,277 

4,277 
4,180 
3,727 
3,150 
3,420 

2,700 


In- 
dicated 
Horse- 
power 


15,500 

15,500 

5,400 

5,400 
15,750 
7,120 
8,400 
9,500 

8,500 


Nominal 
Speed 


Knots 
24*0 

22  "5 

167 

167 
23*0 

17'8 
19"0 
20"0 

20  "0 


Gun 
Protection 


Inches* 
8  (2).  4.7  (10), 

3(12) 

8  (2),  4.7  (10), 

3(12) 

12.5(1), 

4.7(11) 

12.5(1), 

4.7  (12) 

6  (4).  4.7  (8) 

10.2  (2),  6  (6) 

6  (4),  4.7  (6) 

6  (6),  3  (8) 

6  (2).  4.7  (6) 


Weight 
of  Broad- 
side Fire 


Lbs. 
800 

800 

1,260 

780 

1,196 

780 

930 

335 


*  Number  of  pieces  of  each  bore  is  given  in  parenthesis. 
Note.— The  Japanese  navy  includes  also  torpedo  gunboats,  20  torpedo- 
boat  destroyers,  and  47  modern  torpedo  boats. 

24, 


THE    CYNOSURE 


THE  RUSSIAN  NAVY 


Battleships 


Poltava 

Petropavlovsk 
Sevastopol . . . 

Peresviet  

Pobieda 

Osliabia 

Retvisan 

Cesarevitch  . . 


Displace- 
ment 


Tons 
10,950 

12,674 

12,700 
13,100 


In- 
dicated 
Horse- 
power 


11,200 

14,500 

16,000 
16,300 


Nominal 
Speed 


_,,^  Weight 

„    Y"^-         of  Broad- 
Protection     side  Fire 


Inches* 
12  (4),  6  (12) 

10  (4),  6  (12), 
3(20) 

12  (4),  6  (12), 

3(20) 
12  (4),  6  (12), 

3(20) 


Armored 
Cruisers 

Displace- 
ment 

In- 
dicated 
Horse- 
power 

Nominal 
Speed 

Gun 
Protection 

Weight 
of  Broad- 
side Fire 

(rrnTnohni 

Tons 
12,336 

7,800 
12,200 
10,940 

5,893 

18,000 
17,000 
18,000 
13.500 
7,000 

Knots 
20 '0 
22 '0 
20 '0 
18*0 
15*0 

Inches* 

Lbs. 

1  197 

Bayan  

952 

R  o<5<sifi 

1,348 

1,345 

444 

Rurik 

Protected 
Cruisers 

Displace- 
ment 

In- 
dicated 
Horse- 
power 

Nominal 
Speed 

Gun 
Protection 

Weight 
of  Broad- 
side Fire 

Tons 
6,750 
6,500 
6,500 

6,630 

3,200 
3,000 

19,500 
19,500 
20,000 

11,600 

11,500 
18,000 

Knots 
23'0 
23*0 
23'0 

20*0 

22*0 
25 '0 

Inches* 

Lbs. 

872 

772 

A/^arvfitr.  ... 

510 

Diana ) 

Palladn. V 

632 

Aurora ) 

Rnvarin 

180 

Nnvik" 

180 

*  Number  of  pieces  of  each  bore  is  given  in  parenthesis. 

Note. — The  Russian  navy  includes  also  upwards  of  26  torpedo-boat 
destroyers  and  53  ettective  torpedo  boats,  many  of  which  are  effective 
for  service  in  Asiatic  waters.  In  the  Black  Sea  are  5  battleships  of  the 
fourth  class,  2  of  the  third  class,  1  of  the  second  class,  and  1  of  the  first 
class,  besides  a  portion  of  the  torpedo  flotilla.  The  fleet  cannot  pass  the 
Dardanelles  except  in  defiance  of  the  interested  Powers  of  Europe. 

25 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

hurry  to  the  interesting  Ainu  in  the  North. 
Then  follow  the  three  serious  chapters  with 
which  the  book  shall  close.  We  shall  study 
Japanese  traits  as  compared  with  their  Chi- 
nese neighbors ;  we  shall  see  by  her  past  ex- 
perience of  what  Japan  may  be  capable  in 
future ;  and,  finally,  discuss  the  larger  mean- 
ing of  the  Russo-Japanese  war.  The  Japan 
of  the  past  is  dead  and  buried.  All  hail  to 
the  Japan  of  To-Day! 


26 


II 

SUNRISE-LAND 


^  The  Name  of  Japan — Sunrise 
means  Beauty  :  The  Beauty  of 
Kamakura,  Enoshima,  Nikko — 
Sunrise  means  Mystery  :  Earth- 
quakes, Tidal  Waves,  and  Vol- 
canoes— Sunrise  means  Light  : 
Civilization  and  Christianity ; 
or.  Manners  versus  Morals 


II 

Sunrise-Land 

"  What's  in  a  name?"  It  is  a  great  mis- 
take to  think  that  names  are  meaningless, 
this  high  intimation  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing. For  example,  take  "  Japan." 
The  word  comes  to  us  through  the  Dutch 
and  the  Portuguese,  two  peoples  who  had 
dealings  with  that  country  in  very  early 
times.  Possibly  the  word  was  first  intro- 
duced into  Europe  by  a  remarkable  Venetian 
traveller  named  Marco  Polo,  who  resided  in 
China  just  two  hundred  years  before  that 
other  great  Italian  voyager,  Columbus,  came 
to  America.  Polo  heard  the  Chinese  talk- 
ing of  a  little  country  to  the  east  of  them, 
"  where  gold  might  be  picked  up  from  the 
streets  like  pebbles."  They  called  this  land 
Dschi-pon,  and  the  translation  from  Dschi- 
pon  to  Japan  is  easy. 

While  the  natives  of  Japan  use  the  same 
alphabet  as  the  Chinese,  they  give  to  its  thou- 
sands of  letters  a  different  pronunciation. 
Instead  of  calling  their  country  Dschi-pon, 

99 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

they  say  "  Nihon."  So,  by  a  roundabout 
road,  "  Nihon"  and  "  Japan"  come  from 
the  same  starting-point.  Japan  is  but  a  cor- 
ruption of  the  native  name,  Nihon. 

Not  everybody  knows  this.  One  day  a 
student  in  the  government  school  where  the 
writer  was  teaching  said  to  me : 

"  Teacher,  please  do  not  call  our  country 
Japan.    Call  it  Nihon.    That  is  its  name." 

"  Why?"  said  I;  "  what  is  the  difference 
between  calling  it  Nihon  and  calling  it 
Japan?" 

"  Oh,"  said  he,  "  there  is  a  great  deal  of 
difference.  The  word  Japan  is  an  insult. 
In  your  country  you  have  a  black  varnish 
which  you  use  for  veneering  tin  and  iron. 
Your  name  for  that  varnish  is  Japan.  And 
the  reason  why  you  foreigners  call  our  land 
Japan  is  because  you  think  we  have  just  a 
mere  varnish  of  civilization." 

Of  course  I  laughed  over  that,  and  told 
the  class  that  there  is  a  kind  of  varnish  that 
we  call  "  Japan,"  but  we  give  it  that  name 
because  it  originated  in  Japan.  And  when 
I  explained  that  Japan  is,  by  a  roundabout 
road,  just  the  same  as  Nihon,  the  boys  were 
mollified,  and  laughed  at  the  patriotic  igno- 
ramus until  he  was  red  in  the  face. 

30 


3 

a 

rf. 


3 
4> 


SUNRISE-LAND 

But — "  what's  in  a  name?"  This  word 
Japan,  or  Nihon,  has  a  meaning.  Note  that 
it  is  of  two  syllables.  The  first  is  the  Japan- 
ese and  Chinese  word  for  "  sun;"  the  second 
syllable  is  their  word  for  "  source."  The 
word  Japan,  then,  means  sun-source,  sun- 
birth,  sunrise.    Japan  is  Sunrise-Land. 


In  what  senses  may  Japan  be  called  the 
Land  of  the  Rising  Sun?  Leaving  aside  the 
obvious  geographical  fact  that  Japan  is  ap- 
propriately called  Sunrise-Land  because  it 
lies  so  very  far  east,  let  us  consider  what 
thought  is  first  suggested  to  our  minds  by 
the  fact  of  the  sunrise.  Is  it  not  a  thought 
of  beauty?  Is  there  anything  on  earth  more 
beautiful  than  this  every-day  event  of  the 
sunrise  ?  Stand  at  dawn  "  tiptoe  upon  a  little 
hill."  Watch  the  sky  clothe  herself  in  crim- 
son for  the  coming  of  her  king.  Then  see 
him  come  in  majesty,  "  rejoicing  in  the  east," 
— that  splendid  sovereign  "  of  this  great 
world  both  eye  and  soul," — and  the  mind  is 
fairly  thrilled  with  a  sense  of  all  the  beauty 
wherewith  "  God  the  Beautiful"  has  blessed 
His  splendid  world.  So  Japan,  the  land  of 
the  sunrise,  is  a  land  of  the  sunrise  beauty. 


31 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

The  first  journey  I  took,  on  the  day  after 
landing,  was  by  rail  from  Yokohama  to 
Kamakura.  We  got  into  a  little  railway-car 
quite  different  from  those  we  have  at  home, 
for  it  was  built  on  the  European  model ;  the 
porter  locked  us  in;  a  little  engine  gave  a 
mighty  shriek,  and  then  glided  out,  through 
green  rice-fields  and  across  narrow  streams, 
into  the  country.  The  miniature  train  hur- 
ried with  a  fair  degree  of  speed  through  vil- 
lages most  picturesque,  their  houses  thatched 
with  straw;  across  rice-fields,  laid  out  with 
perfect  orderliness,  the  peasants  wading 
knee-deep  in  the  water;  through  groves  of 
giant  trees,  under  the  bluest  of  blue  skies, 
in  sight  of  the  purple  mountains,  onward  to 
the  ancient  capital  of  Kamakura.  Once  a 
city  of  a  million  souls  was  here;  now  noth- 
ing but  a  fishing  village  remains,  with  one 
sole  remnant  of  the  ancient  glory. 

I  mean  the  mighty  Buddha.  It  is  an  image 
of  solid  bronze  reared  in  honor  of  the  great 
Gautama,  who  has  more  followers  to-day 
than  any  other  man  that  ever  lived ;  an  image 
which  for  centuries  has  been  the  Mecca  of 
pious  pilgrims  from  throughout  the  Empire. 
The  approach  is  through  an  avenue  of  tall 
and  stately  trees,  which  give  hospitable  en- 

32 


SUNRISE-LAND 

tertainment  to  numberless  jet-black  crows, 
cawing  boldly  in  the  branches  just  above  us, 
as  though  well  aware  that  all  life  is  safe 
within  the  sacred  groves  of  Buddha.  At  the 
end  of  the  avenue  is  the  idol,  the  most  cele- 
brated and  beautiful  in  all  this  idolatrous 
island.  Gautama  is  represented  as  sitting  in 
a  lotus  flower,  his  hands  folded  placidly  be- 
fore him.  The  eyes,  which  are  of  pure  gold, 
are  cast  down  in  modest  contemplation;  the 
entire  expression  is  profoundly  sweet  and 
thoughtful.  To  get  a  proper  idea  of  the 
size  of  this  colossal  image,  you  must  know 
that  it  is  almost  fifty  feet  in  height,  or  as  tall 
as  an  ordinary  three-story  dwelling.  The 
great,  gentle  mouth  is  over  a  yard  in  width 
and  the  ears  are  six  feet  in  length.  There 
are  upon  the  head  eight  hundred  and  thirty 
curls  of  bronze,  each  nine  inches  long.  The 
thumb  measures  three  feet  around,  and  the 
distance  from  one  great  folded  knee  to  the 
other  is  nearly  twelve  yards.  As  a  work  of 
colossal  art,  Dai  Butsu  is  grandly  beautiful. 
Idol  though  it  be,  one  cannot  but  feel  a  sense 
of  awe  as  he  looks  with  upturned  face  into 
the  vast  placid  countenance  of  this  noble 
Buddha,  who  has  seen  the  strifes  of  cen- 
turies, and  before  whose  "  eternal  calm"  mil- 

3  33 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

lions  have  bent  in  humble  adoration.  Not 
A\  ithout  meaning'  are  the  sonorous  words  at 
the  gateway: 

"O  stranger,  whosoever  thou  art,  and 
A\'hatsoever  be  thy  creed,  when  thou  enterest 
this  sanctuary  remember  that  thou  treadest 
upon  ground  hallowed  by  the  worship  of 
ages.  This  is  the  temple  of  Buddha  and  the 
gate  of  the  Eternal,  and  should  therefore  be 
entered  with  reverence." 

With  a  feeling  indeed  of  reverence,  not 
for  the  idol  itself,  but  for  the  blind  yet  de- 
voted faith  of  milhons,  we  turned  thought- 
fully away. 

Out  to  the  open  sea! 

In  a  little  boat  we  sailed  through  shimmer- 
ing waters  to  the  fairy  island  of  Enoshima, 
fabled  to  have  risen  from  the  sea  in  a  single 
night.  The  legend  is  possibly  true,  for  much 
of  Japan  is  of  volcanic  and  cataclysmic  ori- 
gin. The  place  is  sacred  to  the  goddess  of 
Good  Luck.  Up  the  single  zigzag  street 
we  climb,  beset  on  every  side  by  venders  of 
beautiful  shells  and  various  other  wonders 
of  the  deep.  Through  densely  wooded  sum- 
mit we  press  to  the  open,  with  its  marvellous 
view  of  the  sea  and  the  curving  mainland 
beyond.     The  blue  Pacific  breaks  white  on 


34 


SUNRISE-LAND 

the  beach  beneath  us.  In  the  distance  are 
many  white  and  graceful  ships,  skimming 
the  waves  hke  birds.  Around  us  are  myriad 
evergreens  and  brilhant  flowers.  And  far, 
far  away,  swimming  amid  bright  clouds,  all 
his  roughness  lost  in  that  enchantment  lent 
by  distance  to  the  view,  and  wearing  his  eter- 
nal crown  of  snow,  looms  Fuji  the  Peerless, 
king  of  all  the  mountains  in  this  mountain- 
ous land,  and  most  perfect  in  form  of  all 
the  mountains  in  the  world.  A  perfect  cone, 
truncated ;  the  base  lost  in  clouds,  seemingly 
suspended,  like  some  vast  splendid  vision,  in 
the  turquoise  sky !  It  is  a  sight  one  can  never 
forget. 

Yet  there  are  still  more  beautiful  sights  in 
this  wonderful  Sunrise-Land,  this  country 
where  beauty  abounds.  The  people  them- 
selves say, — 

"  Do  not  say  '  Kekko'  until  you  have  seen 
Nikko!" 

Kekko  means  beautiful,  and  Nikko  is  their 
favorite  beauty  spot.  There  is  probably  no 
other  place  in  the  whole  world  that  combines 
in  such  marvellous  degree  the  beauties  of  art 
with  the  beauties  of  nature.  As  for  the  land- 
scape, it  varies  in  impressiveness  from  the 
awful  sublimity  of  great  volcanoes  to  the 

35 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

placid  gleam  of  crystal  lake  and  the  boister- 
ous rush  of  waterfall.  One  day  we  climbed 
a  cliff,  whence  one  peers  timorously  into  an 
ulcered  chasm  w  herefrom  in  former  days  the 
lava  spouted,  but  w^here  to-day  seven  sooth- 
ing streams  glide  down  the  scarred  and 
frowning  walls,  as  if  in  gentle  endeavor  to 
smooth  out  the  wounds  of  ancient  battle. 
The  town  of  Nikko,  founded  in  the  year 
820,  finds  a  home  for  itself  in  the  very  heart 
of  these  awful  hills;  but  the  erosive  powxr 
of  water  does  its  work  even  on  the  greatest 
heights,  whence  more  than  twenty  brooks 
leap  into  bright  cascades,  miniature  Niag- 
aras. The  largest  has  a  fall  of  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  for  its  slender  silver 
stream.  In  plain  view  towers  the  peak  of 
Nan-Tai-Zan,  more  than  eight  thousand 
feet  in  height;  its  rival,  Nyo-Ho-Zan,  is  to 
be  seen  upon  the  right;  while  in  the  rear 
stands  restless  Shirane,  the  tallest  and  most 
fearful  of  all  the  Nikko  volcanoes,  which 
was  in  eruption  so  recently  as  1889.  Every- 
where grow  tall  and  stateh^  cryptomeria,  at 
times  set  out  in  ancient  avenues  many  miles 
in  length,  and  rivalled  in  our  own  country 
solely  by  the  great  trees  of  California. 
But  I  spoke  of  the  beauties  of  art.    It  is 

36 


SUNRISE-LAND 

characteristic  of  the  Japanese  to  seek  the 
most  beautiful  surroundings  for  their  shrines. 
They  are  notably  a  race  of  beauty-worship- 
pers. You  can  visit  no  great  mountain-peak, 
no  large  cascade,  no  peaceful  lake,  without 
finding  there  some  shrine  or  temple  to  the 
gods  of  nature.  It  is  only  to  be  expected, 
then,  that  Nikko  should  be  rich  in  art,  to 
match  its  natural  wealth.  lyeyasu,  the 
greatest  Japanese  of  all  history,  finds  his 
last  resting-place  where  the  best  of  nature 
can  do  him  tribute  with  a  tomb.  He  was 
buried  here  in  1616,  and  his  illustrious  suc- 
cessor, lemitsu,  keeps  him  solemn  company. 
About  these  famous  tombs  great  temples 
have  been  reared,  which  excel  in  prodigal 
magnificence  anything  else  in  Japan.  A 
single  waiting-room  will  sometimes  repre- 
sent a  fortune.  The  most  exquisite  decora- 
tions in  wood  and  silk  and  gold  everywhere 
abound.  In  neighboring  groves  rise  grace- 
ful pagodas,  with  towering  monuments  of 
stone  or  bronze.  It  is  all  a  vast  palace  and 
a  paradise.  Japan  the  Beautiful! — Land  of 
the  Rising  Sun ;  land  of  the  sunrise  beauty. 
But  the  rising  sun  suggests  to  the  thought- 
ful mind  not  merely  the  idea  of  beauty.  As 
one  watches  the  ascent  of  that  mighty  blazing 

37 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

ball,  he  is  impressed  also  with  a  sense  of  the 
mystery  and  awesomeness  of  nature.  What 
would  hap23en  should  the  sun  for  a  single  in- 
stant delay  his  ordered  coming?  Who  up- 
holds his  vast  weight?  What  power  propels 
him  from  his  bath  in  the  eastward  sea  ?  What 
pilot  guides  him  in  his  daily  course  across  the 
sky?  The  sunrise,  to  a  thoughtful  mind,  is 
suggestive  of  the  mystery  and  power  of  na- 
ture, so  that  we  cry  with  Ossian : 

"Whence  are  thy  beams,  O  sun — thine 
everlasting  light?  Thou  comest  forth  in 
thine  awful  beauty, — the  stars  hide  them- 
selves in  the  sky, — the  moon,  cold  and  pale, 
sinks  in  the  western  wave, — thou  thyself 
ridest  alone!" 

So  Japan  is  the  Land  of  the  Rising  Sun. 
True  to  its  name,  no  land  is  fuller  than  this 
one  of  the  manifestations  of  nature  in  all 
mystery  and  awful  power.  It  is  the  land  of 
the  earthquake,  the  typhoon,  the  volcano,  and 
the  tidal  wave.  Just  before  our  first  visit  the 
solid  earth  was  shaken  to  its  core,  with  the  re- 
sult that  twenty-five  thousand  people  lost 
their  lives.  Five  years  later,  in  addition  to 
the  intervening  calamities,  occurred  a  tidal 
w^ave.  The  waves  of  the  sea  rose  in  sudden 
anger,  lashed  themselves  to  fury,  and  like  a 

38 


SUNRISE-LAND 

roaring  lion  rushed  with  monstrous  devasta- 
tion across  miles  on  miles  of  low-lying  pros- 
trate land,  swallowing  into  the  hungry  maw 
of  the  sea  no  less  than  forty  thousand  human 
lives.  A  few  days  later,  sailing  along  this 
same  dread  coast,  w^e  saw  the  dead  bodies 
floating  uncared  for,  there  being  none  indeed 
to  bury  the  piteous  dead,  save  such  as  came 
from  a  distance  for  relief. 

A  climb  up  the  largest  active  volcano  in  the 
country,  and  one  of  the  largest  in  the  world, 
remains  fresh  in  memory.  Seen  from  afar, 
borrow^ed  enchantment  rests  upon  the  crest  of 
great  Asama  Yama,  seeming  smooth  and 
soft,  while  rising  tall  above  the  surrounding 
"mountain  children,"  as  the  people  love  to 
call  their  hills.  But  draw  near  the  lordly 
thing,  and  what  seemed  a  pile  of  poetr}^  be- 
comes a  rough,  repellant  mass  of  belched-out 
rock.  More  than  eight  thousand  two  hundred 
feet  above  the  sea  towers  this  sublime  para- 
bolic chimney,  from  whose  throat  the  smoke 
pours  out  unceasingly.  A  hard,  stiff,  aching 
climb  across  the  scoriated  sides,  through  a 
worn-out  crater  whose  walls  are  now  bedecked 
with  green,  and  you  may  look  down  into  the 
great  hot  hole  a  thousand  feet  to  where  the 
roaring  flames  are  seething  in  possession  of  a 

39 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

secret  man  cannot  discover.  It  seems  a  frag- 
ment of  fiery  hell  itself.  Whence  this  ma- 
jestic, terrifying  power?  Nobody  knows. 
Japan,  land  of  the  sunrise,  is  also  the  land 
of  mystery,  a  country  of  awe  and  terror. 

If  now  we  pass  on  to  speak  of  the  people, 
it  is  still  the  land  of  the  sunrise.  During  the 
past  fifty  years  the  sunlight  of  Western  civ- 
ilization has  been  shedding  its  bright  light 
there.  Not  that  the  people  had  no  light  be- 
fore— they  had  the  moon.  The  civilization 
of  the  Orient,  as  contrasted  with  our  own,  is 
as  moonlight  compared  with  the  sunshine, 
^loonlight  is  a  very  real  light,  and  it  has  its 
advantages.  It  is  gentle,  unobtrusive,  favor- 
able to  thought,  to  sentiment,  to  romance. 
One  can  but  wish  that  the  Japanese  may  not 
lose  some  of  the  gifts  that  have  been  theirs 
from  the  older  days.  Certainly  they  have 
nothing  to  learn  from  us  in  the  way  of  eti- 
quette. Their  mutual  deference  is  charming, 
and  their  hospitality  most  gracious.  What 
could  be  more  perfectly  polite,  or  more  ex- 
pressive of  the  most  delicate  refinement,  than 
the  word  for  good-bye? — "  Sayonara,'' — "  If 
it  must  be  so/' 

But  they  are  feverish  for  the  garish  light 
of  the  West.     Our  civilization  has  made 

40 


SUNRISE-LAND 

wonderful  strides  among  the  Japanese  since 
Commodore  Perry  forced  it  on  them  at  the 
muzzle  of  his  sunrise  guns.  The  Japan  of 
To-Day  is  fully  supplied  with  electric  lights 
and  telegraphs ;  with  telephones,  street-rail- 
ways, and  water-works.  Electrical  appli- 
ances are  used  rather  more  in  Japan  than 
with  us.  A  young  Japanese,  looking  with 
his  American  teacher  at  photographs  of  an 
American  city,  was  surprised  to  see  tele- 
graph wires  in  the  streets. 

"  Why,  teacher,"  said  he,  "  have  those  im- 
provements actually  reached  America?" 

He  had  thought  they  were  native  to 
Japan ! 

The  railway  service  is  excellent;  in  fact, 
all  modes  of  travel  are  remarkably  safe  and 
swift  and  cheap,  while  there  is  absolutely  no 
danger  from  robbery  or  crime.  The  postal 
department  is  better  than  our  own,  with  free 
delivery  at  one's  door  even  in  remotest  coun- 
try districts,  and  with  parcel-posts  and  gov- 
ernment telegraphs  at  little  cost.  The  edu- 
cational system,  as  has  been  already  shown, 
can  scarcely  be  improved.  Instead  of  a  hun- 
dred mediocre  "  universities"  they  have  just 
one,  but  that  one  is  worthy  of  the  name. 
From  it  as  from  the  hub  radiate  colleges 

41 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

and  academies,  lower  schools  and  primaries, 
increasing  in  number  as  the  grade  is  low- 
ered, and  all  auxiliary  to  the  single  splendid 
centre.  Newspapers  are  in  every  town, 
often  with  telegraphic  service  from  all  parts 
of  the  w^orld.  Rice  exchanges  and  stock 
gambling  may  be  found — in  short,  all  of  the 
latest  improvements  in  Western  civilization, 
including  great  guns  and  superb  soldiers  for 
killing  folk.  The  •  sun  of  civilization  has 
risen  there.    It  is  Sunrise-Land, 


And  yet,  after  all,  Japan  behes  its  name. 
Like  the  sunrise  in  its  beauty,  in  the  mystery 
and  grandeur  of  its  physical  characteristics, 
and  in  what  we  call  enlightenment,  yes ;  but 
in  the  most  important  of  all  respects  the  peo- 
ple are  groping  and  blind.  And  this  is  a 
most  portentous  anomaly.  For  consider,  what 
comes  to  the  nation  that  holds  the  priceless 
but  perilous  treasure  of  civilization  without 
that  wisdom  to  use  it  aright  which  proceeds 
only  from  moral  sunshine?  What  came  to 
France  ?  The  Japanese  have  changed  in  out- 
ward appearances  so  thoroughly  that  many 
have  been  deceived  into  believing  the  change 
complete,  and  that  a  nation  can  be  really  born 

42 


SUNRISE-LAND 

in  a  day.  The  change  has  been  phenomenal, 
but  perhaps  it  has  been  chiefly  phenomenal, 
and  not  essential.  Certainly  there  has  been 
no  inner  transformation  entirely  commensu- 
rate with  the  outward.  Japan  has  had  a 
Renaissance,  but  not  a  Reformation.  "  Over 
the  hot  and  still  active  fires  of  traditional 
sentiment,  ethnic  emotions,  and  hereditary 
customs  a  thin  crust  of  modern  Western 
civilization  has  been  laid.  The  crust  is  the 
appearance;  the  unassuaged  but  concealed 
interior  fires  are  the  dominant  reality."  De- 
ceived travellers,  sometimes  with  the  best 
of  intentions,  confuse  manners  wath  morals, 
refinement  with  religion,  and  civilization 
with  Christian  conduct.  Because  they  see 
outward  polish,  they  argue  to  a  change  of 
heart,  and  call  every  cultured  man  a  convert. 
They  think  that  steamboats  and  railway-cars 
are  the  fruits  of  repentance  and  of  godly 
living ;  and  because  for  a  season  Japan  had  a 
fad  for  our  religion,  just  as  she  has  had  suc- 
cessive fads  for  white  rabbits  and  rose-bushes 
and  sheep,  we  have  been  told  that  Japan  is 
Christian  and  has  no  further  need  of  mis- 
sions. There  could  be  no  greater  mistake. 
Travellers  who  spend  a  few  weeks  in  the  open 
ports  go  into  ecstacies,  but  missionaries  who 

43 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

dwell  long  in  the  interior  are  tempted  to  fall 
into  despair.  The  Japanese  have  beautiful 
manners,  they  have  refinement,  they  are  civ- 
ilized ;  but  they  are  immoral,  they  are  not  re- 
ligious, they  are  far  from  being  evangelized. 
Actual  figures  show  that  only  one  out  of 
a  thousand  of  the  people  can  even  nomi- 
nally be  called  Christian;  while  the  meas- 
urably true  disciples  do  not  outnumber 
half  that  sum.  Is  one  in  two  thousand 
enough? 

But  I  will  not  talk  figures,  and  I  shall  not 
argue  for  the  benefits  of  Christian  missions. 
I  will,  however,  cite  certain  instances  to  show 
the  moral  standing  of  the  masses,  and  to 
explain  what  heathenism  really  means.  Let 
us  for  the  present  pass  by  the  fact  that  com- 
mercial integrity  is  almost  unknown  among 
the  majority  of  Japanese  merchants;  that  it 
is  a  rare  thing  for  native  dealers  to  keep 
their  contracts;  and  go  on  to  the  deeper 
things  of  heart  and  life. 

Teaching  for  years  as  I  did  in  a  govern- 
ment school  of  five  hundred  pupils,  there 
were  naturally  rare  opportunities  for  study- 
ing the  inner  life  of  the  people,  since  school- 
boys are  often  off  their  guard,  and  their 

teacher  learns  to  know  them  as  they  are.    As 

u 


SUNRISE-LAND 

a  matter  of  great  interest  to  me,  I  once  gave 
the  classes  in  English  composition  this  sub- 
ject for  their  essays, — "  The  Noblest  Thing 
I  Ever  Heard  of."  I  wished  to  discover  the 
ideals  of  Japanese  boys.  What  things  do 
they  deem  noble  and  good  and  true?  Who 
are  their  heroes?  What  are  their  best  views 
of  life? 

The  China-Japan  war  had  just  closed.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  one  of  the  last  inci- 
dents of  that  war  was  the  seizure  by  the  Jap- 
anese navy  of  the  Chinese  fleet,  which  had 
been  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Ting. 
Now,  the  better  classes  of  Chinese  and  Jap- 
anese have  the  same  ultimate  basis  of  heathen 
"morality," — namely,  Confucianism.  Con- 
fucianism may  be  said  to  have  only  one  article 
in  its  creed, — filialism, — which  it  extends  and 
applies  to  the  State.  It  teaches  that  a  man's 
highest  duty  is  to  his  ruler — above  wife, 
above  children,  above  father  and  mother, 
above  right,  and  even  above  the  Almighty. 
Therefore,  when  Admiral  Ting's  fleet  was 
surrounded,  he  surrendered  it  promptly 
enough;  but  he  felt  that  it  would  be  a  su- 
preme disgrace  to  His  Majesty  the  Emperor 
of  China  to  have  one  of  his  highest  officials. 
Ting  himself,   fall  into  the  hands  of  the 

45 


JAP  AX   TO-DAY 

enemy.  Ting  therefore  killed  himself,  out 
of  respect  for  his  Emperor. 

What  would  have  heen  the  feelings  of  the 
North  for  Rohert  E.  Lee  if,  at  Appomattox, 
rather  than  share  the  fate  of  the  gallant  men 
he  had  surrendered,  he  had  committed  sui- 
cide from  a  sense  of  devoted  patriotism? 
Instead  of  admiring  him  for  the  unsullied 
hero  and  knightly  character  that  he  was, 
North  and  South  alike  would  haVe  despised 
him.  And  yet  nine  out  of  ten  of  my  Jap- 
anese schoolboys  wrote  of  the  suicide  of  Ad- 
miral Ting  as  the  noblest  thing  of  which  they 
had  ever  heard.  If  a  suicide  is  their  ideal, 
and  if  hara-kiri  is  the  best  thing  they  know 
of,  what  shall  we  suppose  is  the  worst?  This 
sentiment  of  laudation  for  Ting  was  voiced 
in  every  paper  in  the  country,  and  by  every 
public  teacher,  by  priests  and  by  people  alike, 
so  far  as  I  could  learn.  The  highest  morality 
they  possess  encourages  self-destruction. 

This  system  of  ethics  teaches  that,  next  to 
the  State,  one  owes  his  duty  to  his  parents. 
That  has  a  pleasant  enough  sound ;  Japanese 
filial  piety  is  a  very  attractive  phrase  indeed. 
But  here  is  an  illustration  of  w^hat  it  some- 
times means  in  practice.  Just  after  we 
landed,   the   newspapers   were   full   of  the 

46 


SUNRISE-LAND 

story  of  an  ignorant  peasant  in  the  interior, 
who  was  greatly  troubled  in  mind  by  the  fact 
that  his  aged  mother  seemed  to  be  losing  her 
sight.  He  tried  many  remedies,  all  in  vain. 
Then  he  sought  the  assistance  of  his  religion. 
He  went  to  a  priest,  perchance  to  a  so-called 
wizard,  and  asked  for  advice  on  the  subject. 
Filialism  being  vital,  the  oracle  inquired : 

"Are  you  willing  to  do  anything  to  save 
your  mother's  sight  that  the  gods  may  re- 
qun-e  ^ 

"  Yes,"  the  poor  man  said,  "  I  am." 
Then  the  hideous  answer  came, — 
"  Feed  her  a  human  liver,  and  her  sight 
will  be  restored." 

A  very  shrewd  answer,  one  would  say,  be- 
cause it  could  not  be  obeyed;  and  in  justice 
to  the  oracle,  it  may  be  said  that  there  was 
probably  no  expectation  that  the  man's  filial 
piety  would  stand  such  a  test  as  that.  But 
the  devout  peasant  was  in  deadly  earnest. 
It  never  occurred  to  him  to  question  the 
divine  origin  or  wisdom  of  this  message ;  he 
had  implicit  faith.  And  his  devoutness 
prompted  him  to  execute  it. 

The  only  possibility  of  testing  the  fiendish 
remedy  was  by  slaying  one  of  his  own  house- 
hold.    He  had  but  one  child,  a  mere  babe. 

47 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

His  love  for  his  child  was  great;  for  what- 
ever else  may  be  said  of  the  Japanese,  they 
are  certainly  not  "without  natural  affec- 
tion," like  the  Romans  in  the  time  of  St. 
Paul.  This  man,  however,  was  more  than 
a  father;  he  was  a  religious  devotee.  His 
religious  feeling  of  devotion  to  his  mother, 
and  his  fear  of  the  avenging  gods,  deter- 
mined his  conduct  along  the  line  of  the  only 
"  morality"  he  knew.  One  night  he  took  his 
sleeping  child  out  into  the  little  garden,  and 
was  about  to  slay  it  with  a  knife.  But  in 
some  way  the  wife  and  mother  heard,  and 
understood.  She  begged  the  man  to  spare 
the  child.  He  told  her  the  words  of  the 
oracle;  he  reminded  her  of  the  supreme  de- 
mands of  filial  piety,  and  while  she  agreed 
with  him  in  the  theory  of  it  all,  her  mother- 
love  was  stronger  wdth  her  than  anything 
else  in  the  world,  and  she  implored  him  to 
spare  her  child.  But  the  man  was  inexor- 
able. 

"  Oh,"  said  she,  at  last,  "  if  the  gods  must 
be  obeyed,  take  me;  but  save  my  baby." 

At  length  he  yielded  to  this  request.  The 
child's  life  was  spared.  But  the  wife  died 
at  her  husband's  hands,  and  the  gods  were 
satisfied. 

48 


Mother  and  Child 


SUNRISE-LAND 

Is  it  not  a  fearful  thing  to  see  one  of  the 
hohest  f  eehngs  of  humanity,  this  sentiment 
of  fihal  piety,  made  into  a  horror  at  which 
devils  well  might  shudder  ?  But  the  strangest 
part  of  my  story  is  yet  to  come.  I  said  that 
nine  out  of  ten  of  these  pupils  wrote  of  the 
suicide  of  Admiral  Ting  as  the  noblest  deed 
of  which  they  had  ever  heard.  One  of  them, 
however,  actually  chose  the  deed  that  has  just 
been  described, — not  the  self-sacrifice  of  the 
mother,  but  the  inhuman  sacrifice  on  the  part 
of  the  husband  and  father.  Doubtless  the 
deed  had  been  held  up  to  the  lad  by  his  igno- 
rant parents  at  home,  or  perchance  by  his 
parish  priest,  as  an  example  in  filial  piety 
worthy  to  be  ranked  among  the  exploits  of 
the  "  Four  and  Twenty  Paragons."  *  The 
murder  of  his  wife  by  that  benighted  man, 
out  of  devotion  to  the  aged  mother — this  be- 
cause filialism  was  the  only  morality  he  knew 
— was  the  noblest  deed  my  lad  had  ever  heard 
of. 

I  have  not  dwelt  upon  the  vices  of  the 
Japanese.  I  have  not  spoken  of  their  lying, 
because  that  is  a  vice  from  which  we  "  shrewd" 
Americans  are  by  no  means  free.    I  have  not 

*  A  classic  collection  of  filial  stories  for  the  moral 

edification  of  youth. 

4  49 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

spoken  of  their  licentiousness,  because  even 
our  public  prints  too  often  prove  that  there 
are  unclean  in  the  camp  here  with  us.  But 
let  us  thank  God  that  at  least  we  have  worthy- 
ideals,  even  though  we  fall  in  the  dust  far  be- 
low^ them.  And  may  He  have  pity  on  those 
"  enlightened"  folk  across  the  sea,  whose  very 
ideals  may  be  badges  and  tokens  of  shame! 
Suicide  and  wife-murder, — if  this  be  their 
"morality,"  what  is  their  immorality?  Are 
they  in  the  sunshine,  or  the  darkness  ?  Japan 
is  indeed  a  beautiful  land,  the  home  of  a 
charming  people.  But  Japan  is  also  a  land 
of  gloom,  where  the  people  are  sitting  in 
darkness  amid  the  terrible  shadows  of  sin. 


Yet  I  would  not  finish  this ''  sunrise"  sketch 
in  such  dark  colors.  The  sun  of  righteous- 
ness is  not  yet  risen  on  Japan,  but  the  streaks 
of  dawn  are  glimmering  there.  Among  those 
multitudes  who  "love  the  darkness,"  the 
"  children  of  light"  are  already  sparsely  in- 
termingled; few,  but  mighty  in  their  influ- 
ence. The  gospel  has  shown  itself  a  divine 
power  for  the  salvation  of  men  in  the  Orient 
as  well  as  here  in  the  West.  I  have  seen  men 
turned  from  darkness  to  light  by  the  simple 

50 


SUNRISE-LAND 

story  of  Christ's  cradle  and  cross,  lisped  by 
the  lips  of  children.  There  was  Mizoguchi ; 
a  man  whose  life  was  so  evil  that  it  marked 
him  for  wickedness  even  among  his  heathen 
neighbors.  His  children  began  coming  to 
a  little  street  Sunday-school,  where  they 
learned  to  sing  our  sweet  Christian  songs, — 
the  words  being  translated,  of  course,  but  the 
tunes  the  same  that  are  sung  the  wide  world 
over.  At  home  he  heard  this  singing,  and  he 
liked  the  music,  but  the  words  were  strange. 
They  were  mysterious  words  to  him;  words 
of  "  the  sweet  old  story,"  of  the  "  heart  that  is 
whiter  than  snow,"  of  a  God  who  loves  and  a 
Christ  that  saves.  So,  finally,  one  morning 
he  came  with  his  children,  curious  to  hear  the 
meaning  of  these  songs.  He  heard;  he  be- 
lieved ;  and  now  for  more  than  seven  years  he 
has  been  a  faithful  member  of  the  church  in 
Saga.  "A  little  child  shall  lead  them." 
There,  as  here,  the  gospel  is  "the  power  of 
God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  be- 
lieveth." 

Nowhere  does  it  show  its  power  more  than 
on  the  death-bed.  I  have  seen  it  triumph 
over  the  "  king  of  terrors"  more  than  once,  in 
a  land  where  death  means  death,  where  only 
the  few  scattered  Christians  have  the  hope  of 

51 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

a  life  beyond  death.  There  was  Soejima,  a 
man  fifty  years  old,  who,  through  the  work 
of  our  own  infant  mission,  at  last  found  faith 
in  God.  A  year  afterwards  he  was  taken  ill. 
One  bright  Sunday  our  little  company  of 
Christians  were  gathered  about  the  commun- 
ion table,  in  a  chapel  near  his  house.  He  had 
been  left  at  home  in  bed.  We  were  mightily 
surprised,  while  in  the  act  of  communing,  to 
see  him,  gaunt  and  tottering,  approaching 
uj)  the  aisle,  supporting  himself  by  the  ends 
of  the  rude  benches  on  either  side.  He  fell 
on  his  knees  at  the  altar  and  received  the  sac- 
rament. Friends  bore  him  home  in  their  arms. 
A  few  days  later  we  w^ere  called  to  see  him  in 
his  final  hour.  Sadly  worn  and  thin  was  his 
poor  racked  frame,  but  it  was  thrilled  with  a 
delight  that  death  could  not  take  from  him. 
Wan  was  his  dying  face,  yet  bright  with  a 
smile  that  really  set  death  at  naught.  Hollow 
his  eyes  and  dim,  yet  the  last  light  in  them 
was  the  most  beautiful,  for  it  had  the  touch 
of  heaven's  own  radiance.  He  died  trustful 
and  glad. 

I  recall  also  young  Hamasaki,  struck  down 
in  the  strength  and  pride  of  his  youth  with  a 
loathsome  and  hopeless  malady.  He  also  had 
found  faith  in  Christ  and  His  resurrection. 

52 


SUNRISE-LAND 

I  hold  in  my  hand,  while  writing,  a  little 
Japanese  Testament  that  he  gave  me  on  a 
Christmas  day  just  before  his  death.  On 
the  fly-leaf,  in  his  struggling  English,  are 
the  words:  "  Please  accept  my  little  Plesent. 
Hamasaki."  As  he  lay  dying,  he  found 
strength  to  say,  with  his  very  latest  breath, 
the  simx^le  prayer,  "Take  me!" — hfting  his 
hand  the  while,  which  the  Great  Shepherd 
did  indeed  take,  to  lead  him  through  the 
valley  of  the  shadow.  Mother  and  sister 
and  brother  could  not  resist  the  parable  of 
that  death.  They  sought  the  same  power 
for  their  own  lives,  and  through  his  death 
were  led  to  life. 

But  I  will  not  go  on.  Instances  could  be 
multiplied  to  show  that  the  first  faint  dawn 
is  gleaming  in  that  Eastern  land,  even  amid 
the  darkness  of  the  masses ;  while  in  a  closing 
chapter  I  shall  show  that  Christian  influences 
have  been  steadily  moulding  the  leadership 
of  new  Japan,  aJbeit  unrecognized  at  times. 
But  the  full  sunrise  is  yet  to  come.  God 
speed  the  day! 


53 


Ill 

VIEWS   AWHEEL 


^  Tokyo  in  the  Rain — A  Jinri- 
kisha  Ramble— The  Wheel- 
man's Paradise — Bishop  Potter 
at  Nagasaki 


in 

Views  Awheel 

Had  Bayard  Taylor  only  owned  a  bicycle 
or  had  access  to  a  jinrikisha,  he  would  not 
have  called  his  charming  traveller's  sketch- 
book "Views  Afoot."  I  am  obliged  to  him 
for  having  suggested  to  me  a  title  for  this 
chapter  that  has  the  added  distinction  of  as- 
sociation with  such  a  masterpiece  as  his. 

Some  long-suffering  British  resident,  hav- 
ing exhausted  his  prose  vocabulary  during 
the  prolonged  "rainy  season"  of  the  late 
spring  and  early  summer,  suddenly  dropped 
into  poetry  "  with  a  dull  and  sickening  thud," 
as  follows: 

"  Dirty  days  hatli  September, 

April,  June,  and  November; 

From  February  unto  May 

The  rain  it  raineth  every  day; 

All  the  rest  have  thirty-one, 

Without  one  blessed  gleam  of  sun, 

And  if  any  of  'em  had  two-and-thirty 

They'd  be  just  as  wet  and  twice  as  dirty." 

57 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

"It  has  been  raining  continuously  for 
the  past  twenty-four  hours,  and  continually 
since  my  arrival  in  Tokyo  a  month  ago," — 
this  was  the  first  report  I  sent  home  concern- 
ing the  Japanese  climate.  From  my  window 
I  could  watch  the  little  Japanese  women,  and 
scarcely  larger  men,  tottering  along  on  their 
stilted  wooden  shoes,  wliich  lift  them  above 
the  mud ;  under  their  paper  umbrellas,  which 
keep  them  dry.  The  idea  of  a  paper  um- 
brella may  appear  ridiculous  to  a  Western 
mind,  but  that  is  because  the  average  West- 
ern mind  is  unacquainted  with  the  qualities 
of  Japanese  paper.  ]Many  a  time  have  I 
walked  through  a  heavy  rain  under  the  shel- 
ter of  these  frail  roofs,  without  being  wet  in 
the  least.  The  paper  is  stubbornly  fibrous, 
rendered  impervious  to  rain  and  strongly  re- 
sistant to  rents. 

Within  two  feet  of  my  window  was  a 
beautiful,  brave  little  palm-tree,  which  has 
learned,  in  whatsoever  state  it  is,  therewith  to 
be  content.  It  kisses  the  rain,  smiles  to  the 
sun,  and  caresses  the  wdnd  forever.  It  wraps 
its  delicate  body  up  from  the  cold  in  a  nat- 
ural coat  of  hair,  and  thus  keeps  itself  green 
all  the  winter.  I  came  soon  to  look  upon  it 
as  a  bright  and  happy  companion,  teaching 

58 


VIEWS   AWHEEL 

a  sweet,  constant  lesson  of  contentment. 
Through  the  branches  of  this  cheery  Uttle 
tree  I  see  two  of  my  largest  cherry-trees. 
Each  year  they  bloom  into  fragrance  and 
beauty,  to  become  the  delight  of  this  beauty- 
loving  people,  who  cherish  the  flower  and 
ignore  the  fruit.  The  plum-trees,  too,  are 
covered  with  rich,  fleecy  pop-corn,  and  little 
shrubs  blossom  daintily  everywhere  of  which 
I  do  not  even  suspect  the  name. 

Beyond  the  trees  are  the  palings,  then  the 
street,  in  which  I  catch  glimpses  of  a  jet- 
haired  maiden  with  dark,  liquid  eyes  and 
rosy-red  cheeks,  and  a  baby  brother  on  her 
bending  shoulders.  She  is  laughing  now — 
she  is  laughing  almost  always — and  the  child 
is  merry  with  her.  There  go  three  other 
girls,  laughing.  It  is  well  that  they  are 
merry  now,  for  their  joyousness  may  go  full 
soon.  Wifehood  here  is  slavery,  and  only  in 
old  age  does  relief  return. 

Across  the  street  is  one  of  the  little  shops 
— of  which  the  city  is  full — where  you  may 
buy  stamps  and  register  your  letters.  Like 
all  the  other  shops,  it  is  wooden,  unpainted, 
one-story,  and  ugly.  It  has  glass  sliding 
doors,  but  you  do  not  need  to  go  in,  for  near 
the  door  is  a  hole  like  a  ticket-office,  where 

59 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

you  can  comniuiiicate  with  the  authorities 
and  transact  your  business. 

Next  to  the  httle  post-shop  is  a  hvery- 
stable,  with  men  instead  of  horses,  and  jin- 
rikishas  for  buggies.  You  can  hire  a  single 
team  for  eight  sen  per  hour,  though  if  you 
are  a  "  griffin,"  or  what  the  college  boys  call 
a  "  rat,"  you  will  probably  pay  double. 

My  house  is  on  a  corner,  and  my  study 
really  has  two  windows  instead  of  one.  I 
move  now  to  the  other,  and  see  stretching 
before  me,  just  beyond  a  narrow,  bridged 
canal,  an  exceptionally  wide  street,  which  is 
w^ell  macadamized.  Commanding  a  view  of 
this  street  and  the  rest  of  the  neighborhood, 
and  within  speaking  distance  from  my  win- 
dow, is  a  little  box-like  house  with  glass  on 
every  side.  In  front  of  it  there  stands  or 
treads  perpetuall}^  a  martial  man  in  hand- 
some uniform,  wdth  gold-embroidered  cap 
and  shining  sw^ord.  There  are  four  of  these 
men  in  this  tiny  station-house,  relieving  each 
other  by  turns.  They  are  the  guardians  of 
the  peace;  but  as  the  peace  always  seems  to 
guard  itself,  their  main  service  is  to  make  an 
impression.  The  one  they  make  on  me  is 
favorable.  I  like  them,  for  they  are  polite 
and  friendly. 

60 


VIEWS   AWHEEL 

Off  there  to  the  left,  bordering  the  wide 
street,  one  sees  a  large  public  garden.  In 
one  corner  there  is  a  huge  mound,  covered 
with  trees  and  with  grasses.  Elsewhere  an 
artificial  stream  threads  its  way  under  artifi- 
cial rustic  bridges,  and  all  about  us  are  evi- 
dences of  wonderful  skill  in  the  art  of  land- 
scape gardening,  one  of  the  numerous  arts  in 
which  the  deft  Japanese  excel.  In  this  capi- 
tal city  of  Tokyo  there  are  four  great  parks, 
widely  celebrated,  known  as  Shiba,  Asakusa, 
Uyeno,  and  the  Kudan.  Shiba  is  the  most 
beautiful  in  point  of  gloomy  majesty,  which 
dwells  in  the  lofty  pines;  and  Asakusa  is 
fullest  of  true  human  interest.  I  wish  the 
children  that  read  this  might  have  gone  with 
me  there  some  fine  day  to  see  the  sights  of 
the  great  gay  market,  where  silk  and  saw- 
dust elephants  hobnob  with  stuffed  herons, 
and  painted  oscillating  monsters  swing  in 
little  bamboo  trees,  and  the  most  life-like 
dolls  in  the  world  make  one  smile  at  their 
"  cute"  humanity.  There  is,  besides,  a  great 
museum  and  a  garden  of  zoology,  where  the 
funniest  monkey  I  ever  saw  makes  faces  at 
you,  and  a  ferocious  tiger  growls  for  bloodj^ 
meat.  Then,  there  are  the  shows,  with  the 
open  stage  exposed  to  the  street, — stages 

61 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

whereon  boy  jugglers  balance  themselves  in 
impossible  postures  and  dance  upon  rolling 
balls.  And  there  is  the  temple,  grand  and 
gilded,  with  horrible  statues  guarding  the 
gates,  and  the  poor  mistaken  people  pray- 
ing to  their  senseless  idols. 

What  is  that  great  building  on  that  far- 
away hill,  scarcely  visible  through  the  mists 
of  the  rain?  Doubtless  some  government 
building,  constructed,  they  tell  us,  after  the 
most  approved  style  of  foreign  architecture, 
which  must  mean,  one  suspects,  that  it  is  for- 
eign to  all  known  styles  of  architecture.  You 
may  see  many  such  here  in  Tokyo,  for  the 
administration  is  constructive  in  its  policy. 
There  to  the  right  is  a  skyward-climbing 
tower,  from  the  top  of  which  curls  a  smoky 
column.  It  is  the  great  chimney  of  some 
iron  factory,  and  it  also  has  its  many  fellows 
in  this  w^ondrous  Oriental  town. 

Yes,  it  is  raining,  raining,  raining,  as 
though  we  were  indeed  to  be  deluged.  But 
the  sight-seer  is  largely  independent  of  the 
weather  in  this  most  obliging  country.  For 
are  there  not  the  jinrikishas? — literal  little 
"pull-man-cars,"  as  the  word  denotes, — and 
will  not  our  human  horses  come  to  the  very 
doorstep,  and  tuck  us  snugly  in,  and  pull  the 

62 


Rain-coats  made  of  Straw 


VIEWS   AWHEEL 

oilcloth  curtains  up  in  front  and  behind,  so 
that  we  remain  as  dry  as  ever  we  please?  So 
come,  without  further  ado,  and  go  with  me 
for  true  "  views  awheel"  through  the  streets 
of  this  marvellous  city!  Peering  out  from 
within  our  sheltered  carriages,  we  see  peas- 
ants and  coolies  hurrying  along  in  their 
funny  rain-coats,  which  are  nothing  but 
great  bundles  of  rice-straw  draped  from 
their  shoulders;  and  the  sight  makes  us 
selfishly  but  deliciously  comfortable  as  we 
settle  ourselves  back  on  the  cushions. 

The  way  of  our  human  horses  is  tempora- 
rily obstructed,  even  in  the  streets  of  a  great 
city  like  this,  through  the  general  habit  the 
people  have  of  walking  in  the  middle  of  the 
road.  Only  on  a  few  thoroughfares  is  there 
any  excuse  for  a  sidewalk;  and  even  there 
the  pedestrians  persist  in  their  habit.  The 
jinrikishaman,  who  always  goes  in  a  trot,  is 
ceaselessly  ejaculating  a  jerky  little  '' Hi!" 
which  serves  as  a  warning  to  those  in  his  way ; 
a  warning  always  heeded  with  good  nature. 
The  streets  are  in  most  cases  narrow,  short, 
and  running  in  all  directions.  There  is  no 
order  in  the  plan  of  the  city.  Consequently, 
you  get  lost  within  a  few  yards  of  home  un- 
til you  learn  the  landmarks,  w^hich  themselves 

63 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

are  often  like  the  traditional  needle  in  the 
haystack.  It  is  difficult  for  a  stranger  to  see 
any  difference  in  the  hundreds  of  little 
streets,  each  with  its  many  doorless  shops, — 
like  a  face  without  eyelids, — wherein  are  dis- 
played to  full  view  the  entire  stock-in-trade 
of  the  thievish  merchants.  JNIy  use  of  this 
unpleasant  word  is  sadly  ap j)ropriate ;  for 
only  in  shops  conducted  upon  foreign  prin- 
cij^les  is  the  new-comer  safe  from  extortion. 
The  genuine  Japanese  merchant  always  asks 
double  for  his  wares,  and  sometimes  treble; 
then  the  purchaser  is  expected  to  conduct 
the  demoralizing  process  vulgarly  known  as 
"  Je wing-down."  This  custom  has  given  rise 
to  a  special  class  of  idioms,  to  which  a  chap- 
ter in  every  grammar  is  devoted.  I  never 
once  entered  a  Japanese  shop  alone  without 
sore  quailings  of  courage  and  a  pretty  defi- 
nite conviction  that  I  should  pay  two  prices 
for  my  purchases.  However,  all  the  native 
articles  are  sold  at  such  an  extremely  low  rate 
as  somewhat  to  atone  for  the  extortionate 
greed  of  the  seller. 

Only  on  the  Ginza — the  Broadway  of  this 
Japanese  New  York — are  the  stores  at  all 
pretentious,  and  even  there  they  compare  un- 
favorably with  the  structures  found  in  our 

64 


VIEWS   AWHEEL 

smaller  towns  at  home.  On  the  Ginza  I  re- 
call a  street-car  line — served  by  poor  horses 
with  two  legs  apparently  in  the  grave — and 
frequent  omnibuses.  Beyond  these  com- 
modities, the  use  of  beasts  of  burden  is  but 
seldom  seen,  since  men  are  the  heavy-laden 
in  Japan.  Not  to  speak  of  the  ubiquitous 
jinrikisha,  it  is  a  common  sight  to  see  two  or 
four  men  pulling  and  pushing  an  uncon- 
scionably heavy  load  of  farm  products  or  of 
lumber  up  a  steep  hill,  while  the  perspira- 
tion drips  from  their  swarthy  half -clothed 
frames,  and  their  already  tried  lungs  sound 
out  a  not  unmusical  ejaculation  with  every 
alternate  step.  Such  extravagant  waste  of 
breath,  indulged  presumably  for  the  purpose 
of  keeping  in  step,  if  musical,  is  surely  in  a 
minor  key;  for  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  any 
sound  more  plaintive  than  this  of  ceaseless 
vocalized  weariness. 

The  business  of  pulling  this  little  carriage 
in  which  we  ride  has  grown  to  great  magni- 
tude in  Japan,  many  families  being  depend- 
ent for  their  daily  bread  upon  the  exertions 
of  the  poor,  trotting,  hard- worked  human 
horse  that  goes  so  patiently  and  faithfully 
between  the  shafts.  These  laborers  are,  in- 
deed, so  numerous  as  to  constitute  a  distinct 

5  65 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

class;  there  are  thirty  thousand  of  them  in 
Tokyo  alone,  and  it  is  impossible  to  walk 
fifty  yards  without  having  one  approach  you 
and  respectfully  solicit  employment.  They 
are  for  the  most  part  quite  indigent,  yet  their 
scanty  income  is  diminished  the  more  by  a 
tax  required  for  the  governmental  treasury. 
The  law  also  compels  them  to  wear  a  sort  of 
uniform,  and  is  strictly  enacted  with  regard 
to  certain  other  regulations.  Their  condition 
is  certainly  such  as  to  excite  our  pity,  which 
w^ould  be  quite  unallayed  were  it  not  that 
these  overworked  men  are  such  incorrigible 
swindlers.  If  you  fail  to  make  your  bargain 
in  advance,  there  is  sure  to  be  a  quarrel  when 
the  journey  is  at  an  end,  because  of  the  ex- 
orbitant rate  demanded;  and  often,  even 
though  the  bargain  was  duly  made  before 
the  ride  began,  the  time  of  final  reckoning 
becomes  unpleasant  through  the  insatiable 
demands  of  the  coolie.  He  is  especially  fond 
of  imposing  upon  new-comers.  A  friend  of 
mine,  when  first  arriving  in  Yokohama,  paid 
eighty  sen  for  an  hour's  ride — just  ten  times 
the  legal  rate! 

While  we  have  been  talking  about  these 
avaricious  but  indispensable  workmen,  they 
have  drawn  us  swiftly  through  these  narrow, 

66 


VIEWS   AWHEEL 

labyrinthine  streets  of  Tokyo,  where  the 
strange  sights  are  quite  too  numerous  to 
mention;  past  great  government  buildings, 
across  canals,  and  over  the  Ginza  to  the  im- 
perial castle  walls,  just  as  the  sun  comes  out 
from  the  mists  to  lighten  the  beautiful  land- 
scape. These  walls  are  of  massive  stone, 
reared  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  in  height, 
or  else  made  of  great  embankments,  upon 
which  the  grass  is  growing  fresh  and  beauti- 
ful. Beneath  the  wall  is  dug  a  deep  canal, 
which  serves  the  more  effectually  to  debar  all 
possible  invaders.  These  welded  walls  and 
moats  enclose  great  spaces  in  the  centre  of 
the  city,  wherein  is  yet  another  similar  de- 
fensive structure,  inside  which,  all  out  of 
sight,  is  the  Mikado's  own  sacred  palace.  As 
one  cannot  get  a  glimpse  of  this  palace  with- 
out indefinite  trouble,  we  must  content  our- 
selves with  a  ride  or  two  around  the  inner 
wall,  and  pass  on  to  other  sights;  leaving 
behind  us  the  handsome  Teikoku  Hotel,  one 
of  the  finest  hostelries  in  the  East,  fitted  as 
it  is  with  all  the  modern  improvements,  and 
charging  immoderate  rates. 

It  is  surely  a  scene  of  rare  beauty,  as  we 
pass  once  more  around  the  walls.  The 
shrubbery  is  luxuriant  in  rich  vernal  vest- 

67 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

ure,  the  rare  sunlight  gleams  on  the  placid 
waters  of  the  moat,  wherein  hundreds  of  un- 
molested water-fowl  are  happy  just  because 
they  are  living, — while  about  us  Plato's  gaily 
dressed  "  f eatherless  bipeds"  chatter  and 
laugh  in  their  merry  and  careless  fashion. 

More  jogging  through  crowded  streets, 
— in  mortal  fear  lest  our  men  run  over  a 
toddling  baby  or  two, — and  we  pass  the 
entrance  to  the  great  Asakusa  Park,  with 
its  handsome  Buddhist  temple,  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  popular  in  the  country. 
There  is  no  time  to  enter.  With  a  gaze  of 
interest  at  the  tall  red  pagoda,  towering  so 
gracefully  towards  the  sky,  we  pass  on 
through  the  straggling  suburbs  into  the 
country  itself.  All  along  the  route  we  see 
tiny  shrines  and  images  of  the  great  Dai 
Butsu,  whose  chief  original,  at  Kamakura, 
was  described  in  a  former  chapter. 

There  go  two  interesting  characters! 
Their  heads  are  shaven,  and  you  will  note 
they  are  clad  most  handsomely,  for  they  are 
wearing  their  festival  garments.  They  are 
none  other  than  Buddhist  priests,  of  whom 
there  are  thousands  in  this  priest-ridden 
country.  They  are  young,  and  have  bright, 
attractive  faces. 

68 


VIEWS  AWHEEL 

See  the  rice-fields !  At  this  season  they  are 
flooded  with  water,  which  is  conducted,  in 
some  cases,  for  a  great  distance.   Everything 
in  Japan  is  laid  out  on  a  tiny  scale,  except  the 
cities  and  the  mountains.     The  fields  are 
strikingly  small  and  toy-like,  and  it  is  easy 
to  imagine  the  people  whom  we  see  at  work 
to  be  children  playing  in  the  mud.     Queer 
people  in  queer  garments,  working  for  their 
daily  bread!    If  the  rice  crop  fails,  as  it  did 
a  few  years  ago,  woe  to  dependent  Japan! 
Her  strength  lies  mainly  in  this  nutritive 
cereal,  which  constitutes  almost  the  sole  diet 
of  the  people.     In  former  years  it  was  the 
money  of  Japan:  everything  was  bartered  in 
rice.    On  the  other  side  of  the  road  one  sees 
acres  planted  in  tea,  which  grows  in  low, 
bunchy  bushes,   dark  green  and  fragrant. 
Between  the  rows  of  the  precious  stuff,  men 
and  women  are  stooping  to  gather  with  care 
the   leaves,    which   are   cured,    sorted,    and 
shipped  to  our  tea-pots  at  home.     Besides 
the  tea  and  rice  crops  of  Japan,  the  country 
produces  opulent  harvests  of  barley,  millet, 
and  beans,  with  smaller  quantities  of  cotton 
and  tobacco.  Agriculture  is  as  yet  conducted 
almost  wholly  by  hand,  labor  being  cheap 
and  abundant.    The  methods  of  cultivation 

69 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

are  primitive,  but  thorough.  Fertihzation 
is  extensively  (and  offensively)  employed. 
Vegetables  such  as  we  use  are  uncommon, 
and  if  seeds  are  imported,  they  produce  good 
results,  but  fail  to  transmit  reproductive 
power  to  their  offspring — that  is,  fresh  seed 
must  be  imported  every  year.  The  chief 
fruits  are  the  persimmon,  orange,  and  hiwa, 
the  latter  being  a  small  and  strange  yellow 
plum.  Exotic  fruits  almost  always  lack  the 
flavor  to  w^hich  w^e  are  accustomed  here  at 
home — such  as  the  fig,  the  peach,  and  the 
apple,  which  are  produced  in  very  small 
quantity,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the 
fig.  Small  fruits,  however,  can  be  raised  in 
abundance,  and  well  flavored.  The  northern- 
most island  of  Yezo  has  offered  best  oppor- 
tunity for  experiments  in  advanced  agricul- 
ture. 

And  now  we  have  met  an  interesting 
group !  It  is  a  family  in  travel.  The  mother 
has  one  baby  bundled  on  her  back,  while  the 
father  carries  another  in  a  basket  which  is 
suspended  from  a  stick  swung  across  his 
shoulder!  He  is  wearing  a  stiff,  wide,  white- 
cloth  hat,  made  like  an  overturned  basin,  and 
is  smoking  a  tiny  pipe  that  gives  only  three 
whiffs  for  one  filling.  A  Japanese  likes  noth- 

70 


3 


O 

1-1 

13 

n 


VIEWS   AWHEEL 

ing  better  than  to  be  continually  refilling  and 
relighting  his  pipe.  But  our  "pull-man- 
cars  "  hurry  us  on,  and  we  have  time  for  but 
a  glimpse  of  two  or  three  Japanese  maidens, 
sitting  on  their  heels  in  a  tea-house,  eating 
their  mid-day  meal.  Of  course  they  eat  with 
chop-sticks,  which  are  much  more  easily  used 
than  one  would  think.  Their  table  is  a  few 
inches  high,  the  dishes  are  saucers,  and  the 
tea-cups  are  like  so  many  big  thimbles.  They 
laugh  aloud  at  the  funny  foreigners,  but  in 
such  a  sweet,  soft  voice  that  we  cannot  find  it 
in  us  to  feel  offended. 

Now  we  meet  a  man  with  a  veritable  con- 
servatory on  his  shoulders !  Yes ;  the  flower- 
men  of  Japan  dispose  their  beautiful  wares 
on  two  platforms,  which  are  suspended  at 
either  end  of  a  pole.  The  man  gets  under 
the  pole,  and  goes  through  the  streets  and 
along  the  road  crying  out  his  bargains  to 
the  beauty-loving  people,  who  prize  flowers 
more  than  we  prize  fruit.  Let  us  buy  a  few 
bunches  for  half  as  many  cents,  and  hurry 
once  more  homewards. 


"Jitensha"  is  the  Japanese  for  bicycle, 
and  is  flung  a  hundred  times  a  day  from 

71 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

the  healthy  throats  of  the  Httle  Japs  as  they 
watch  the  ghding  wheels.  It  means  a  man- 
l^ropelling  vehicle;  and  Japan  is  the  wheel- 
man's paradise. 

There  are  roads  as  smooth  as  a  race-track 
dissecting  the  pygmy  rice-fields,  skirting  the 
bamhoo  thickets,  invading  the  dale  and  the 
forest,  gently  climbing  the  graded  hill,  with 
a  dash  down  the  other  side.  There  are  kindly 
people,  comfortable  and  unique  lodgings, 
helpful  tinkers  in  case  of  need,  and  a  porous- 
ness of  soil  that  takes  the  moisture  from  the 
earth  in  less  time  than  it  took  the  rain  to  fall. 
Upon  the  fact  that  the  Japanese  are  a  bare- 
foot race,  and  do  their  own  hauling,  rests  a 
most  happy  benefit  to  the  pneumatic  tire. 
The  coolie  keeps  the  road  free  from  sharp 
stones,  and  thus  saves  many  a  puncture  to 
his  feet  and  to  our  tires.  Surely  there  are 
few  countries  more  inviting  to  the  man  that 
loves  his  wheel  than  is  this  JNIikado's  land. 

And  yet  our  paradise  is  not  without  its 
snares.  Perhaps  the  chief  nuisance  we  have 
to  encounter  is  the  ubiquity  of  babies  and 
dogs.  The  dog  can  usually  be  taught  his 
place  by  a  skilful  kick,  but  we  have  to  look 
out  for  the  babies.  Their  mothers  permit 
them  to  spend  the  entire  day  in  the  middle  of 

72 


> 

5" 

O 
o 

3 

CO 

O 


*>,•«>« 


VIEWS   AWHEEL 

the  streets,  and  we  do  not  care  to  macadam- 
ize the  roads  with  them.  It  takes  a  serious 
exertion  of  lung-power  to  make  a  baby  over- 
come his  astonishment;  and  then,  when  he 
does  begin  to  move,  hke  as  not  he  toddles 
squarely  along  in  front  of  you.  Some- 
times he  will  be  standing  quietly  at  the  side 
of  the  road  when  all  of  a  sudden  he  makes 
a  sickening  dash  directly  across  your  path. 
But  vou  cannot  be  vexed  with  him ;  he  is  far 

a.' 

too  "  cute"  and  charming  for  that,  with  his 
queer  little  oldish  clothes,  his  rosy,  chubby 
cheeks,  and  his  half -shaved  head.  The  baby 
Jap,  God  bless  him ;  he  torments  us,  but  we 
love  him  still ! 

There  are  other  features  that  add  a  zest- 
ful  tang  to  the  delights  of  this  delectable 
w4ieelman's-land.  Sometimes  one  runs  across 
a  long  piece  of  road  that  has  lately  been  re- 
paired according  to  Oriental  methods,  and 
the  sensation  is  anything  but  heavenly.  This 
method  consists  in  dumping  a  heap  of  loose, 
round  pebbles  into  the  thoroughfare,  and 
leaving  the  rest  to  nature.  Or,  again,  the 
adventurous  spirit  may  dare  to  take  a  moun- 
tain road,  and  suffer  for  his  daring. 

I  well  remember  an  occasion  of  this  kind, 
when  a  party  of  us  went  across  from  Tokyo 

73 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

to  Atami  by  the  mountain  passage.  Atami 
is  a  village  by  the  sea  beyond  the  mountains, 
where  there  are  hot  baths  and  geysers.  As 
dusk  came  on  we  had  a  looming  mountain 
between  us  and  Atami,  when  a  howling  wind 
came  out  against  us  and  blew  out  our  lamps, 
leaving  us  in  Egypt  darkness.  There  was 
no  help  for  it,  so  we  called  at  a  peasant's  hut 
and  ate  some  sweet  bean-cakes  with  the  in- 
evitable tea,  and  after  that  began  the  ascent. 
Oh,  the  long,  rough,  dusty,  windy  climb  to 
the  top!  How  heavy  the  wheels  were!  A 
little  night-bird  sat  amid  a  thicket  of  waving 
bamboo  and  exasperated  us  by  screaming  in 
our  native  tongue,  "Git  thar!  git  thar!  git 
thar!"  We  got  there  at  last — to  the  top. 
The  wind  was  blowing  harder.  At  the  edge 
of  the  road,  which  was  not  an  inch  over  six 
feet  wide,  one  could  stand  and  peer  through 
the  darkness  down  towards  the  base  of  this 
precipice,  where  he  could  hear  the  lash  of  the 
angered  sea,  hundreds  of  feet  sheer  beneath 
him.  The  descent  was  exceedingly  steep,  but 
we  coasted  in  the  teeth  of  the  wind  and  in  the 
face  of  the  midnight  darkness,  because  we 
were  tired,  and  hardlv  cared  whether  we  w^ere 
blown  over  the  edge  or  not.  Several  times, 
indeed,  we  were  forced  to  dismount.    But  by 

74 


VIEWS  AWHEEL 

ten  o'clock  the  long  ride  was  over,  and  we  can 
never  forget  the  deliciousness  of  that  steam- 
ing natural  bath,  fresh  from  the  throat  of  the 
geyser,  with  the  rough  rub-down  and  the  sup- 
per— especially  the  supper! — and  the  beds. 
Next  day  it  was  over  the  peaks  again,  but  we 
were  sensible  enough  to  have  the  coolies  tow 
our  wheels  with  ropes  flung  over  their  shoul- 
ders, for  a  long,  rough  trip  w^as  before  us. 
Now  do  not  scorn  us  for  hiring  those  coolies, 
pray,  because  the  ascent  was  fearfully  steep, 
leading  over  a  stony,  untrodden  path.  When 
at  length  we  reached  the  top, — there  "we 
saw  the  full  glory  of  the  Lord.  Great  Fuji 
towering,  snow-capped,  eight  thousand  feet 
above,  and  the  blue  Pacific  flecked  with  sails 
four  thousand  feet  below,  and  all  the  spurs 
of  land  and  tiny  plateaux  were  covered  with 
garden  farms  and  toy-like  villages. 

"But  the  wheelman  cannot  stop  long. 
Waiting  is  not  his  virtue.  The  coolies  are 
paid  off,  and  we  glance  at  the  road.  It 
winds  down  with  longer  curves  and  gentler. 
Then  we  examine  brakes,  and  find  them,  too, 
all  right.  So,  feet  on  coasters,  brake  well  in 
hand,  and  away!  For  miles  and  miles  we 
coast  down  the  curving  mountain-side.  It  is 
a  holiday,  and  the  peasants  are  resting  from 

75 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

their  labors.  They  see  us  far  above,  and  line 
their  village  streets,  all  dressed  in  their  best ; 
silent,  respectful,  hesitant,  as  the  strange 
2:)rocession  of  visitants  from  the  clouds  glides 
past. 

"  Down  we  go  for  miles,  and  then  one  brief 
stretch  of  level  ground  brings  us  to  our  noon- 
ing place.  Our  welcome  over,  we  are  led  to  a 
suite  of  clean,  white-matted  rooms  in  the  sec- 
ond story,  overlooking  the  tiny  garden  full 
of  quaint  shrubs  and  trees.  Barefooted, 
deft-handed  maidens  bring  lacquer  trays 
w4th  dainty  dishes  full  of  soup,  rice,  fish,  and 
eggs,  with  chopsticks,  best  of  implements  for 
such  fare,  and  bountiful  supply  of  fragrant, 
straw-colored  tea.  So  we  rest  an  hour  con- 
tent, at  the  foot  of  Fuji  San,  before  the 
wheels  go  on  again." 

Before  that  journey  was  over  w^e  had 
wheeled  several  hundred  miles,  at  least  those 
of  us  had  that  finished ;  for  out  of  nine  start- 
ers there  were  only  three  to  complete  the 
journey.  Our  original  party  embraced 
Americans,  Englishmen,  and  a  Russian; 
business  men,  missionaries,  and  a  diplomatist. 
The  diplomat's  name  was  Boughkovetsky, 
which  defied  us,  so  we  compromised  and 
called  him  "  Bottle-o'-whiskey."     This  was 


76 


"S. 

o' 

o 

c 
c 

rr 
•-« 
«< 

C« 

ft 

I 

H 
<x 


Si 

5' 


::»"':3r;.v^!a 


VIEWS   AWHEEL 

not  inappropriate,  seeing  he  was  famous  for 
good  spirits.  We  consumed  quantities  of 
milk,  for  which  we  contracted  in  advance  by 
telegraph,  as  the  people  themselves  do  not 
use  it.  Everywhere  there  was  nothing  hut 
gentleness  and  friendliness  and  harmless 
curiosity. 

It  was  a  sight  to  ride  through  the  earth- 
quake region,  where  the  earth  broke  open 
only  a  few  months  before  and  thousands  per- 
ished. We  crossed  a  bridge  bent  like  a  series 
of  "  switchbacks"  by  the  terrific  upheaving 
force.  We  saw  the  wretchedness  of  the  suf- 
ferers bemoaning  their  dead,  while  their 
fallen  homes  lay  before  them.  One  dismal 
night,  after  the  ferryman  had  lost  us  on  the 
river,  we  came  into  an  inn  where  foreigners 
had  surely  never  lodged  before.  They 
brought  us  their  wadded  quilts  for  beds, 
and  little  wooden  anvils  for  pillows,  and 
raw  meat  to  eat.  We  ate  it  and  slept. 
What  is  there  a  hungry,  tired  wheelman  can- 
not do? 

There  are  many  foreign  riders  in  Japan, 
as  well  as  natives.  The  machine  is  especially 
useful  to  the  missionary,  for  with  it  he  can 
penetrate  to  the  remotest  regions  at  far  more 
rapid  pace  than  that  of  the  jinrikishaman, 

77 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

and  save  the  fees  that  must  otherwise  be  paid. 
Consequently,  and  because  pleasure  may  be 
so  admirably  combined  with  work,  there  are 
but  few  missionaries  without  a  wheel. 

When  my  home  was  in  the  southern  island 
of  Kyushu,  I  frequently  rode  across  the 
mountains  to  the  port  of  Nagasaki,  where 
the  great  white  "Empresses"  of  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  fleet  pause  for  fresh  supplies  of 
fuel  before  plunging  into  the  yellow  waters 
of  the  China  Sea.  Here  may  be  witnessed  a 
remarkable  scene,  which  has  been  sketched 
with  such  graphic  skill  by  the  sympathetic 
hand  of  Bishop  Potter  that  I  venture  to 
transfer  it  bodily  from  the  pages  of  his  sug- 
gestive little  book,  "  The  East  of  To-Day 
and  To-Morrow." 

"  If  I  were  asked  to  say,"  declares  Bishop 
Potter,  "of  all  that  I  saw  in  Japan,  what 
that  is  that  lives  most  vividly  in  my  memory, 
I  should  probably  shock  my  artistic  reader  by 
saying  that  it  was  the  loading  of  a  steamship 
at  Nagasaki  with  coal.  The  huge  vessel,  the 
Empress  of  Japan,  was  one  morning,  soon 
after  its  arrival  at  Nagasaki,  suddenly  fes- 
tooned— I  can  use  no  other  word — from  stem 
to  stern  on  each  side  with  a  series  of  hanging 
platforms,  the  broadest  nearest  the  base  and 


78 


VIEWS   AWHEEL 

diminishing  as  they  rose,  strung  together  by- 
ropes,  and  ascending  from  the  sampans,  or 
huge  boats  in  which  the  coal  had  been  brought 
alongside  the  steamer,  until  the  highest  and 
narrowest  platform  was  just  below  the  par- 
ticular port-hole  through  which  it  was  re- 
ceived into  the  ship.  There  were,  in  each 
case,  all  along  the  sides  of  the  ship,  some  four 
or  five  of  these  platforms,  one  above  another, 
on  each  of  which  stood  a  young  girl.  On 
board  the  sampans  men  were  busy  filling  a 
long  line  of  baskets  holding,  I  should  think, 
each  about  two  buckets  of  coal,  and  these 
were  passed  up  from  the  sampans  in  a  con- 
tinuous and  unbroken  line  until  they  reached 
their  destination,  each  young  girl,  as  she 
stood  on  her  particular  platform,  passing,  or 
rather  almost  throwing,  these  huge  basket- 
fuls  of  coal  to  the  girl  above  her,  and  she 
again  to  her  mate  above  her,  and  so  on  to  the 
end.  The  rapidity,  skill,  and,  above  all,  the 
rhythmic  precision  with  which,  for  hours,  this 
really  tremendous  task  was  performed  was 
an  achievement  which  might  well  fill  an 
American  athlete  with  envy  and  dismay.  As 
I  moved  to  and  fro  on  the  deck  above  them, 
watching  this  unique  scene,  I  took  out  my 
watch  to  time  these  girls,  and  again  and  again 

79 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

I  counted  sixty-nine  baskets — they  never  fell 
below  sixty — passed  on  board  in  this  way  in  a 
single  minute.  Think  of  it  for  a  moment. 
The  task — I  ought  rather  to  call  it  an  art,  so 
neatly,  simply,  and  gracefully  was  it  done — 
was  this :  the  young  girl  stooped  to  her  com- 
panion below  her,  seized  from  her  uplifted 
hands  a  huge  basket  of  coal,  and  then,  shoot- 
ing her  lithe  arms  upward,  tossed  it  laugh- 
ingly to  the  girls  above  her  in  the  ever- 
ascending  chain.  And  all  the  while  there 
w^as  heard,  as  one  passed  along  from  one  to 
another  of  these  chains  of  living  elevators,  a 
clear,  rhythmical  sound,  which  I  supposed  at 
first  to  have  been  produced  by  some  by- 
stander striking  the  metal  string  of  some- 
thing like  a  mandolin,  but  which  I  discovered 
after  a  little  was  a  series  of  notes  produced 
by  the  lips  of  these  young  coal-heavers  them- 
selves— distinct,  precise,  melodious,  and  stim- 
ulating. And  at  this  task  these  girls  con- 
tinued, uninterruptedly  and  blithely,  from 
ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  until  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  putting  on  board  in  that 
time,  I  was  told,  more  than  one  thousand  tons 
of  coal.  I  am  quite  free  to  say  that  I  do  not 
believe  that  there  is  another  body  of  work- 
folk in  the  world  w^ho  could  have  performed 

80 


VIEWS   AWHEEL 

the  same  task  in  the  same  time  and  with  the 
same  ease." 

It  is  not  only  an  interesting  sight,  it  is  also 
most  suggestive^  as  the  sage  Bishop  has 
thoughtfully  observed.  Japan  has  seized  the 
wonderful  implements  of  our  Western  civiU- 
zation,  and  she  is  using  them  in  her  own 
original  manner,  after  methods  unknown  to 
us,  impossible  to  us,  and  startling  by  their 
Oriental  novelty.  Her  naval  tactics  in  the 
present  war  are  striking  examples  of  this 
interesting  fact.  As  was  indicated  in  the 
opening  chapter,  her  wonderful  ability  to 
receive  and  her  marvellous  agility  to  apply 
our  Western  implements  of  power  give  to 
her  little  people,  few  though  they  be  in  num- 
ber, a  most  important  position  in  the  imme- 
diate development  of  history.  What  will 
happen  when  her  ponderous  Amazonian  sis- 
ter across  the  Yellow  Sea  shall  have  learned 
from  this  pygmy  genius  the  secrets  of  our 
Saxon  strength  and  progress?  What  will 
happen  if  Russia  shall  fail  in  this  war,  bring- 
ing about  the  China-Japan  alliance  as  an 
established  fact,  as  it  is  now  the  cherished 
dream  of  some  of  the  foremost  statesmen  of 
either  empire?  Is  the  "yellow  peril"  a  sen- 
sational phantom  of  the  "  yellow  press,"  or 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

is  the  problem  of  phlegmatic  China  to  be 
solved  through  the  tutorship  of  the  nimble 
Japanese?  A  consideration  of  these  inter- 
esting questions  will  be  offered  in  the  closing 
chapter  of  this  book.  Questions  like  these 
troop  insistently  and  continually  through 
the  maze  of  marvellous  scenes  that  bewilder 
and  confuse  the  traveller  in  the  mystical, 
brooding  East. 


82 


IV 
GLIMPSES  OF  HOME  LIFE 


^  In  a  Japanese  Home — The 
Children — Festivals  and  Myths 
— The  Women — Christian 
Wedlock,  so-called 


IV 

Glimpses  of  Home  Life 

It  was  an  uncertain  April  morning.  April 
days  are  uncertain  everywhere,  but  in  Japan 
they  are  very  uncertain.  As  I  started,  gray 
clouds  were  scurrying,  "quick-footed,"  as 
the  idiom  is,  across  the  sky ;  but  the  all- wise 
cook  said,  "  As  for  showering,  it  will  not  be." 
My  bicycle  was  a  new  sight  in  the  old  South- 
ern town.  Many  an  ""  O-rya!"  of  amaze 
popped  out  as  it  spun  through  the  narrow 
streets;  many  a  cry  of  '' Bikkurir — "You 
scared  me!" — was  followed  by  a  scarcely  less 
astonished  ''  Oto-denshinr  —  "  Noiseless !" 
The  discovery  of  silent  wheels,  so  different 
from  the  clattering  jinrikishas,  surprised 
these  loin-girt  pedestrians  into  their  most 
rustic  dialect.  None  but  Saga  men  could 
understand  that  Oto-denshin.  Their  idioms 
are  most  peculiar.  The  Tokyo  word  for 
"  No"  is  the  Saga  word  for  "  Yes." 

But  I  was  forgetting  the  April  day.  Cook 
San  was  a  prophet :  as  for  showering,  it  was 
not.    But  wind!    How  it  swirls  on  you  from 

85 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

the  hills,  pressing  you  back  as  with  a  strong 
hand  on  the  breast,  and  filling  your  eyes  with 
sand!  And  the  mud!  Where  there  came  a 
clayey  stretch  of  road,  the  wheels  would  not 
go  round,  and  there  was  but  one  thing  to  do 
— shoulder  them.  Then  the  wind  passed,  the 
roads  relented,  and  my  thirty  miles  (after  a 
race  with  a  tiny  coal-train)  had  brought  me 
to  the  sea.  Karatsu  is  beautiful:  the  wed- 
ding of  the  mountains  with  the  ocean  makes 
it  so.  The  hills  run  down  into  the  blue  Pa- 
cific, and  a  long  stretch  of  mountain-pines 
lave  their  bold  feet  in  the  tides.  On  yonder 
truncated  knob,  clad  now  in  clouds  of  cherry- 
blossoms,  lies  the  ruin  of  one  of  the  strongest 
of  ancient  castles,  whence  the  strongest  of 
feudal  chiefs  defied  his  foes.  A  few  miles 
to  the  south  is  the  important  little  port  of 
Sasebo,  a  key  to  the  present  naval  situation 
in  Japan.  And  here  in  the  road  is  Suzuki, 
with  a  bow  in  his  hand,  who  starts  and  smiles 
as  he  sees  me. 

Suzuki  is  a  big,  open-hearted  student  of 
the  Saga  government  school,  at  home  for  the 
spring  vacation.  I  had  liked  him,  and  he 
liked  me  well  enough  to  do  what  is  done  very 
rarely  in  Japan, — inviting  me,  a  foreigner 
and  a  Christian,  to  spend  several  days  in  his 

86 


HOME   LIFE 

home,  where  alien  had  never  yet  set  foot. 
Inns  there  are  a-plenty;  but  seldom  do  the 
pagan  homes  open  to  Western  guests  for  a 
visit  of  days.  I  trundled  my  wheel  beside 
him,  to  the  clatter  of  many  clogs,  which 
scampered  away  if  I  but  turned,— chiefly 
little  girls,  their  backs  bent  with  the  weight 
of  sleeping  babies. 

I   make  myself  ridiculous   when  in  the 
house.    When  my  shoes  are  off,  and  I  stand 
on  the  spotless  mats,  there  come  the  mother, 
the  sister,  the  cousin,  the  brothers,  to  give 
me  welcome.    As  they  all  bob  down  and  butt 
their  heads  on  the  floor,  what  am  I  to  do? 
To  stand  is  insufferable,  so  I  bob  and  butt 
too.    But  with  what  sad  lack  of  grace !  They 
do  it  gracefully  enough, — they  stoop  and 
bow;  a  foreigner  never  does.    It  is  a  serious 
question,  this  of  the  native  etiquette.    "  And 
is  there  not  an  honorable  weariness?" — "  He 
came  by  the  self -rolling  vehicle!"  —  "The 
roads  of  Nippon  are  indeed  very  inconveni- 
ent for  you." — "And  the  sky-humor  is  to- 
day very  changeable !"    A  different  language 
from  my  own,  and  different  customs,  truly; 
but  the  hospitality  there  is  no  mistaking.   As 
one  of  their  proverbs  says,  "  Humanity  is  the 
same  the  world  over." 

8T 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

They  bring  my  meal  to  me  on  lacquered 
tables  a  foot  high  and  square,  before  which 
one  squats  to  eat.  Suzuki  stays  by,  helping. 
There  is  plenteous  rice,  and  stewed  fish  float- 
ing in  a  sweetish  sauce,  and  a  special  dish  of 
rice  into  which  eggs  have  been  broken  raw. 
Of  course,  there  is  tea  in  tiny  cups,  and  red, 
sour  "sweetmeats"  and  sugar.  It  was  not 
bad,  any  of  it,  as  a  novelty;  and  the  chop- 
sticks are  easy  to  use.  But  there  is  one  fre- 
quent article  of  diet  to  which  I  must  really 
pay  my  respects, — a  sort  of  pickled  radish, 
known  as  daikon.  It  has  the  odor  of  an 
ancient  egg,  tastes  worse  than  it  smells,  and 
is  just  about  as  nutritious  as  a  corn-stalk. 
With  more  force  than  elegance,  perhaps,  it 
may  be  truthfully  described  as  preserved 
stink.  Yet  it  is  a  favorite  with  the  Japanese 
palate.  One  of  the  dishes  most  acceptable 
to  alien  taste  is  unagi-meshi,  which  consists 
of  fried  eels  in  boiled  rice,  flavored  with  the 
sweetish  sauce  that  is  used  for  almost  every- 
thing. A  new  dish  at  Suzuki's  was  whale's 
meat.  It  looked  and  tasted  like  beef,  being 
somewhat  redder  and  more  pungent.  Ka- 
ratsu  is  a  great  fish  market;  strange  ogling 
monsters  they  showed  me  in  the  stalls.  Some 
of  the  daintiest  fish  is  served  raw.    One  dips 

88 


(I 


HOME   LIFE 

it  in  soy,  and  it  is  palatable.  Other  dishes, 
like  the  soups  and  stewed  chicken,  are  not 
unlike  your  own;  then  there  is  the  rice,  and 
the  tea.  But  of  all  of  it  one  tires  in  three 
days. 

They  were  very  kind  to  me, — painstaking 
to  please,  yet  without  affectation.  Is  not 
that  true  hospitality?  Friends  of  the  family 
came  to  call  on  me,  and  we  played  Gomoku- 
narahe, — vulgarly  known  here  as  Go-bang. 
Most  graciously  did  they  feign  defeat; 
most  untruthfully  praise  the  Westerner's 
skill,  who  is  as  naught  before  them.  Then 
Suzuki  takes  up  the  bow  again,  and  we  go 
to  the  seashore  to  shoot.  Their  archery  is 
all  hedged  about  with  occult  rules;  if  the 
bow  is  not  held  just  so,  and  the  feather 
cradled  in  the  hand  like  this,  truly  there 
is  no  doing!  So  I  cannot  do.  In  the 
evening  they  have  a  noble  lady  come  in  to 
play  the  kotOj  that  most  musical  of  all  Japan- 
ese instruments, — a  sort  of  lyre, — but  why 
will  she  sing?  Many  apologies  and  excuses 
at  first,  but  when  once  started,  there  is  no 
stopping  her  (humanity  the  same  the  world 
over), — and  her  voice  like  a  rusty  lawn- 
mower  !  Suzuki  could  not  wink  at  me,  being 
a  Japanese,  but  he  looked  very  sage,  and  said 

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JAPAN   TO-DAY 

in  an  aside,  that  "  she  does  Hke  the  singing  of 
herself."  Her  boy,  a  lad  of  ten,  they  called 
the  Judge,  because  of  his  droll  soberness. 

The  Judge  and  his  mother  went  home,  and 
they  put  me  to  bed.  First  came  the  young 
women  of  the  family,  to  pull  out  the  wadded 
bedclothes  from  the  closets  and  spread  them 
on  the  floor.  Whenever  they  entered,  Suzuki 
apologized  for  the  fool-women  being  in  my 
presence;  and  here,  indeed,  was  a  surety  of 
Orientalism.  Apologizing  for  the  ladies! 
This  is  the  land  where  one  of  the  common 
proverbs  runs,  "  Though  a  woman  bear  you 
seven  sons,  trust  her  not."  Yet  they  do  trust 
her  to  make  the  beds,  the  gawky  men  sitting 
helpless.  For  my  especial  comfort  an  im- 
provised haggish  pillow  was  thoughtfully 
provided,  instead  of  the  usual  "head-rest," 
which  looks  like  a  little  wooden  anvil  and 
feels  like  the  block  of  an  executioner.  Only 
in  the  women  did  I  see  any  signs  of  devout- 
ness.  Morning  and  evening  the  mother  un- 
covered a  gilded  shrine  in  the  wall,  filled  with 
bronze  lotus-leaves  sheltering  a  Buddha; 
twice  a  day  she  opened  this  sacred  place, 
clapped  her  hands,  struck  silvery  notes  on  a 
hanging  bell-cup  near  the  shrine,  and  made 
offerings  of  new  tea  and  smoking  rice,  while 

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HOME   LIFE 

her  son  blushed.  Better  any  rehgion  than 
none,  say  I — better  old  Japan  than  young,  if 
UTeligious.  There  is  an  ancient  motto  on  the 
wall  of  that  pagan  home  which  reads,  "  Up- 
rightness putteth  a  hundred  devils  to  flight." 

It  was  on  the  second  evening  they  sum- 
moned courage,  after  a  family  council,  to  ask 
me  to  a  bath.  Vague  rumors  had  reached 
them  of  strange  Western  prudery,  yet  to 
omit  this  daily  offer  would  be  a  breach  of 
"  uprightness,"  and  righteousness  prevailed. 
No  doubt  there  was  relief  w^hen  I  declined, 
and  all  could  go  trooping  singly  to  the  family 
ablution,  beginning  with  the  eldest,  and  so 
down.  Afterwards  a  momentous  question 
was  put  to  me.  Said  the  curious  elder 
brother :  "  Whereas  they  say  that  Westerners 
go  wearing  their  clothes  into  the  bath,  is  it 
not  so?"  They  think  it  inexplicable  that  we 
should  wear  clothing  so  constantly;  and, 
never  seeing  us  without  it,  draw  inferences. 

Their  bath-tubs  are  often  placed  in  a 
corner  of  the  little  front  yard,  entirely  un- 
concealed. Any  day  you  may  see  a  father 
and  his  children  snugly  ensconced  in  their 
wooden  tub,  only  their  red,  perspiring  heads 
showing  above  the  water-line,  the  charcoal 
boiler  within  the  tub  maintaining  a  degree 

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JAPAN   TO-DAY 

of  heat  that  we  could  not  for  a  moment  en- 
dure. Bath-houses  for  men  and  women  aUke 
open  blandly  on  the  public  streets.  They 
deem  it  no  immodesty  to  expose  the  body  for 
purposes  of  utility,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
express  surprise  at  the  apparently  useless 
*  decollete  styles  of  Western  women. 

Now,  the  best  thing  about  that  visit  to 
Suzuki's  house  I  cannot  describe.  A  strange 
feeling  came  to  me  many  times  whilst  in 
that  home.  It  was  a  feeling  of  reminiscence. 
Among  all  those  peculiar  customs  and  sur- 
roundings— when  eating  whale,  or  listening 
to  the  koto — my  mind  was  filled  with  the 
flavor  of  an  American  country  hospitality. 
At  times  it  was  hard  to  shake  off  the 
impression  that  I  was  home  again,  in  the 
Carolina  country,  among  the  whole-souled 
farmers  there.  For  humanity  is  the  same 
the  world  over,  and  I  had  caught  a  glimpse 
of  it  in  Japan;  not  of  their  etiquette, 
mind  you,  or  their  art,  but  of  something 
deeper.  Yet  it  was  the  one  only  chance  of 
years.  A  few  days  later,  back  in  school 
again,  Suzuki  furtively  approached  and  said : 
"  Teacher,  please  do  not  say  to  the  boys  that 
you  made  me  a  visit."  He  had  been  ashamed 
of  his  mother's  religion  before  the  foreigner ; 

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HOME   LIFE 

he  was  ashamed  before  the  boys  of  his  own 
humanity. 

There  is  no  home  hfe  without  children. 
During  the  years  of  my  Japanese  sojourn 
I  found  constant  deUght  and  interest  in 
the  Httle  brown  babies  of  the  Orient.  Many 
are  the  children's  festivals  observed  in  that 
frolicsome  land;  and  infinite  pains  are 
taken,  which  become  reciprocal  pleasures,  to 
make  the  httle  ones  happy.  In  beautiful 
Nikko,  on  the  morning  of  the  first  of  July, 
I  awoke  to  find  a  gay,  fluttering  world  come 
suddenly  to  birth  with  the  sunrise :  as  though 
it  had  rained  flags  and  peppermints;  as 
though  some  jolly  Saint  Nicholas  had  toyed 
with  the  world  in  midsummer.  In  wonder, 
I  asked  a  young  Japanese  friend  the  reason 
why  those  long  sprigs  of  bamboo  are  deco- 
rated with  strips  and  streamers  of  gay  col- 
ored paper,  bedecking  almost  every  house  in 
sight,  and  presenting  a  most  pleasing  ap- 
pearance. He  tells  me  it  is  the  feast  of 
Amanogawa.  Up  there  near  the  IVIilky  Way, 
which  is  really  "  the  heavenly  river," — there, 
on  either  bank  of  the  wide  silvery  river,  there 
dwell  a  separated  lover  and  his  mate.     He 

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JAPAN   TO-DAY 

is  a  shepherd,  and  she  is  a  weaving-girl;  he 
is  a  star  in  Aquila,  she  is  the  mild  star  Vega. 
Only  in  one  night  of  all  the  long  and  lone- 
some year  can  lover  and  mate  he  united; 
and  that  is  the  last  night  in  June.  So  this 
morning  the  world  is  alive  with  bright  poems, 
verses  of  congratulation  lifted  by  these  gra- 
cious, sentimental  people  of  the  East,  lifted 
on  sprigs  of  the  waving  bamboo  to  comfort 
those  far  lonely  lovers  of  the  air.  For  the 
weaving-girl  is  kept  always  busy  at  her  loom, 
weaving  garments  for  the  innumerable  chil- 
dren of  the  stars,  and  her  lover,  far  across 
the  silverv  river,  can  come  to  her  but  once 
in  the  year.  Since  the  stars  first  sang  to- 
gether, they  have  loved;  and  they  will  love 
till  the  stars  grow  old. 

Amid  this  atmosphere  of  poetry  and 
world-old  romance,  hedged  in  by  charming 
ceremonial  and  enlivened  by  frequent  festive 
jollity,  the  little  master  of  the  East  journeys 
on  the  road  to  manhood.  Bright-eyed,  rosy 
little  tonsured  monk,  wrapped  in  his  robes 
of  rustling  silk,  borne  on  the  bending  back 
of  a  slightly  older  brother,  a  tot  atop  of  a 
toddler  —  the  Japanese  world  seems  espe- 
cially made  for  him,  and  Japan  is  the  chil- 
dren's paradise. 

94 


The  Empress  in  Western  Dress 


:« 


HOME   LIFE 

That  is  what  many  travellers  have  called 
Japan,  where  so  much  is  done  to  amuse  the 
little  ones,  whose  parents,  indeed,  are  child- 
like in  many  of  their  fancies.  And  yet  Japan 
is  not  a  children's  paradise  in  every  sense. 
Loud  cries  were  heard,  one  day,  from  the 
house  of  our  Nikko  neighbor.  Looking 
down  from  our  upper  piazza,  one  could  see 
a  mother  applying  the  moxa  to  the  back  of 
one  of  her  children,  a  boy  about  seven  years 
old,  who  was  kicking  and  screaming  most 
lustily.  But  he  was  scarcely  to  be  blamed 
for  crying.  Moxa  is  the  Japanese  name  for 
the  plant  that  we  conmionly  call  mugwort. 
When  a  child  is  naughty,  or  when  its  mother 
wishes  to  ward  off  the  evil  spirits,  or  to  cure 
it  of  some  disease,  she  rolls  the  mugwort  up 
into  a  fierce  little  cone,  which  she  sticks  to 
the  child's  tender  body  and  forthwith  sets  on 
fire!  It  leaves  a  scar  that  lasts  throughout 
hf  e.  Sometimes  a  coohe's  body  is  pretty  well 
covered  with  these  scars  of  the  terrible  moxa. 
But  the  practice  is  now  on  the  wane. 

While  walking  through  the  grounds  of 
one  of  the  beautiful  Nikko  temples,  I  once 
met  a  real  child-princess.  She  is  one  of 
the  Emperor's  daughters — a  wee  thing,  not 
more  than  five  years  old — spending  the  sum- 

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JAPAN   TO-DAY 

mer  In  a  roval  liouse  here  near  the  tombs  of 
her  ancestors.  Noblemen  and  court  ladies 
encompassed  her;  when  I  saw  her,  two  or 
three  grown  people  were  fanning  hard 
enough  to  blow  her  away,  it  would  seem,  and 
waiting  on  her  every  movement.  Of  course 
my  friend  and  I  took  off  our  hats  in  her 
presence ;  and  she,  in  turn,  stared  very  hard 
at  the  foreigners. 

The  children  seem  exceedingly  free  and 
happy — playing  in  the  dirt,  romping  through 
the  road,  much  as  our  children  at  home. 
Their  minds  do  not  seem  quite  so  active,  per- 
haps; but  to  make  up  for  this,  their  bodies 
are  surprisingly  supple.  You  should  see 
even  the  very  little  ones  racing  over  a  hill  or 
beside  a  sleepy  lake!  I  am  sure  you  could 
not  keep  up  with  them. 

Baby-carriages  are  not  often  seen.  Baby 
is  oftener  carried  on  his  sister's  or  his 
brother's  back,  in  a  kind  of  bag,  though  fre- 
quently he  is  supported  only  by  the  strong 
arms  of  his  nurse,  which  reach  around  and 
clasp  him  safely  from  behind.  Sometimes 
you  see  a  child  not  more  than  four  years  old 
carrying  a  still  smaller  baby  in  this  way. 
Such  a  system  of  nursing  has  its  disadvan- 
tages ;  for  the  baby's  head  lolls  back  until  the 

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HOME   LIFE 

cruel  sun  shines  straight  down  and  hurts  his 
eyes,  perhaps  for  Hf e ;  while  the  nurse  is  apt 
to  become  stoop-shouldered  from  the  weight 
so  constantly  borne. 

You  would  surely  feel  like  laughing  could 
you  see  the  way  his  mother  fixes  baby's  hair, 
when  he  gets  old  enough  to  have  any.  There 
are  several  fashions  in  hair-dressing,  but  the 
favorite  way  is  to  shave  a  round  spot,  the 
size  of  a  small  saucer,  on  top  of  the  little  fel- 
low's head.  This  makes  him  look  exactly  as 
though  he  were  bald;  but  then  he  doesn't 
seem  to  mind  it. 

His  hair  is  always  black  or  brown.  The 
Japanese  think  it  very  strange  that  many  of 
us  foreigners  should  have  light  hair.  There 
is  a  young  American  blonde  out  there  whom 
they  call  "  Miss  Golden  Hair,"  but  whether 
they  admire  her  style  of  beauty  is  hard  to 
say.  Probably  they  prefer  the  darker  locks 
of  their  own  familiar  folk. 

"Do  the  Japanese  babies  have  any  Sun- 
day-school?" Yes,  some  of  them  have.  Those 
that  have  Christian  parents  go  on  Sunday 
mornings,  just  as  our  children  do,  to  the 
chapel  where  they  are  taught  about  the  Won- 
derful Child  of  Nazareth.  But  millions  of 
them  have  never  heard  of  the  manger  of 

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JAPAN   TO-DAY 

[Bethlehem,  so  that  their  growing  hearts  are 
taught  to  worship  idols  that  cannot  love  them 
in  return.  In  almost  every  Buddhist  temple 
you  will  find  a  figure  cut  out  of  senseless 
stone,  whither  the  mothers  bring  their  sickly 
little  ones,  that  they  may  be  healed.  One  of 
the  saddest  sights  I  have  seen  in  Japan  was 
when  I  saw  these  pale,  great-eyed  children 
caressing  a  stone  idol  whose  face  had  been 
worn  quite  round  and  smooth  by  weakly 
hands  that  hoped  to  be  thus  made  strong. 

An  American  child  has  asked  me  how  the 
Japanese  worship  their  gods.  They  pray, 
after  having  thrown  some  money  to  the  idols 
that  they  may  be  induced  to  listen.  Kneel- 
ing humbly  at  an  altar,  with  bowed  heads 
and  clasped  hands,  they  mutter  prayer  after 
prayer,  and  then  depart.  In  Osaka  you 
may  see  a  peculiar  kind  of  praying  going  on 
— prayer  for  the  dead.  The  people  pay  the 
priest  to  write  the  name  of  the  departed  one 
upon  a  sort  of  paper,  which  they  cast  into 
a  pool  that  is  supposed  to  flow  from  heaven. 
Of  course  this  is  all  very  well  for  the  priests, 
M^ho  get  all  of  the  money.  These  priests 
themselves  are  sometimes  very  diligent  in 
prayer.  They  read  the  petition  aloud  from  a 
book  as  rapidly  as  they  can,  whilst  knocking 

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HOME   LIFE 

a  block  all  the  while  with  a  very  shrill-voiced 
little  wooden  hammer.  Perhaps  they  do  this 
to  keep  the  god  awake,  or  else  to  keep  time  to 
their  own  sing-song  words.  I  stood  one  day 
for  a  long  time  watching  a  boy-priest  pray- 
ing thus  earnestly,  seated  as  he  was  flat  on 
the  floor  of  his  temple,  his  head  shaved,  the 
perspiration  dripping  from  his  face.  As  I 
walked  away  through  the  beautiful  grove, 
there  still  came  ringing  out  the  ceaseless 
click,  click,  click  of  the  little  hammer,  until  I 
was  out  of  hearing  distance.  Each  temple  is 
provided  with  a  large,  sweet-toned  bell,  which 
is  rung  at  certain  hours  to  remind  the  people 
of  their  duteous  worship.  Every  night  near 
eleven  o'clock,  when  all  other  sounds  are 
stilled,  I  could  always  hear  the  solemn  notes 
of  a  temple  bell  near  by,  rung  in  praise  of 
a  god  that  cannot  hear  it. 

Some  one  has  asked  me  whether  the  chil- 
dren can  sing.  They  cannot  sing  as  ours  do ; 
the  Japanese  are  scarcely  a  musical  people. 
In  the  Sunday-schools,  the  children  learn 
the  same  tunes  that  we  know ;  but  they  have 
little  music  of  their  own.  If  you  were  to 
hear  even  what  they  have,  you  would  not  call 
it  music.  It  is  noise.  My  servant's  little  boy 
had  a  foreign  accordeon,  of  which  he  is  very 

99 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

fond,  much  to  my  deep  regret.  The  most 
popular  native  instrument  is  a  guitar-like 
contrivance  known  as  a  samisen,  I  have 
laughed  until  the  tears  came,  listening  to  a 
man  playing  his  samisen  by  moonlight,  while 
he  was  grunting  out,  in  the  most  ridiculous 
nasal  voice,  a  mournful  ditty  without  any 
tune  whatsoever.  A  Japanese  girl  may  be 
pretty  until  you  hear  her  sing,  but  then  the 
beauty  vanishes. 

During  three  days  in  the  spring  comes 
the  Tsukiji  feast  of  Inari,  the  rice  god,  or 
fox  deity.  Inari  is  commonly  represented 
as  a  very  fat,  jolly  old  fellow,  sitting  on 
his  bags  of  rice.  The  Japanese  are  very 
fond  of  him,  since  rice  is  their  chief  de- 
pendence. So  his  festival  is  a  great  season. 
Almost  every  hour  in  the  day  a  long  and 
noisy  procession  w^ould  pass  my  house.  In 
front  was  a  man  carrying  two  small  blocks 
of  wood,  which  he  would  click  together  now 
and  then,  as  a  signal  for  the  procession  to 
move  or  halt.  Behind  him  came  men  dressed 
fantastically, — some  of  them  with  false  red 
noses  a  foot  long;  others  riding  funny 
make-believe  horses,  and  yet  others,  wdth 
painted  faces,  robed  in  long  white  gow^ns 
and  wearing  tall  black  hats.     After  these 

100 


'        »  J  J 


>    1      »    I  >    > 


3  . 


HOME   LIFE 

came  two  long  lines  of  children,  pulling,  by 
ropes,  a  tall  wooden  car,  all  decorated  with 
flags  and  gay  paper  ornaments.  On  top  of 
this  car  sat  men,  blowing  fifes  and  beating 
drums  and  ringing  bells.  The  children  were 
shouting  and  the  babies  were  crying,  so  that 
altogether  those  three  days  were  somewhat 
wearisome  to  the  flesh. 

There  are  festivals  and  festivals  galore. 
There  are  the  festivals  of  New  Year,  which 
almost  every  traveller's  diary  has  described; 
a  feast  in  April  to  commemorate  the  birth 
of  Buddha;  a  picturesque  lantern-festival 
in  midsummer;  a  festival  of  Good-Luck  in 
early  autumn;  several  Shinto  festivals  in 
November,  and  local  feasts  too  numerous  to 
mention.  But  for  the  children,  the  two  su- 
preme events  of  all  the  year  are  the  girls' 
festival,  in  March,  and  that  of  the  boys,  in 
May.  The  former  is  also  called  "  the  feast  of 
dolls ;"  for  on  the  third  of  March  all  the  doll- 
shops  in  all  the  cities  are  decked  out  in  such 
fashion  as  to  set  the  little  ones  fairly  agog 
with  deHght.  The  Japanese  excel  in  doll- 
making.  We  rarely  see,  in  this  country,  any 
but  the  cheaper  grades  of  their  work.  In 
Japan  I  have  been  deceived  by  the  marvel- 
lous life-likeness  of  the  little  "  men-images," 

101 


•  » »   . 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

taking  them  to  be  real  children.  So  imagine 
a  doll-festival  day  in  Japan!  All  of  the  toy- 
shops are  filled  with  tiny  models  of  all  sorts 
of  people  and  things,  the  whole  Japanese 
world  in  miniature.  It  is  the  day  of  the 
girls'  rejoicing. 

But  Japan  wears  its  most  picturesque  as- 
pect during  the  boys'  festival,  in  May.  The 
carp  is  the  chosen  symbol  of  boyhood,  because 
he  swims  upstream  against  all  manner  of  ob- 
stacles, resolved  at  all  cost  of  strenuousness 
to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world.  So  the 
people  make  great  toy  carps  of  paper,  tough 
and  fibrous,  with  a  large  hoop  at  the  mouth, 
and  a  much  smaller  hoop  at  the  tail.  Then 
they  hoist  these  great  fish  to  the  top  of  flag- 
staffs,  one  for  the  roof  of  each  house,  and 
the  wind  goes  in  at  the  mouth  and  fills  out 
the  sides  of  the  carp  to  lifelike  propor- 
tions, and  they  swim  and  wriggle  and  dart 
through  the  air,  for  all  the  world  as  though 
the  ocean  were  above  us.  I  doubt  whether 
the  earth  holds  a  more  picturesque  spectacle 
than  Japan  affords  on  the  fifth  of  every 
May. 

We  may  pause  a  moment  longer  with  the 
children  to  hear  the  story  they  are  taught 
concerning  the  creation  of  the  world, — which 

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HOME   LIFE 

means  Japan.  The  beautiful  islands  were 
made  by  the  gods  themselves,  two  of  whom 
came  down  to  live  there,  becoming  the  pro- 
genitors of  the  present  inhabitants,  who  are 
thus  the  "  sons  of  heaven,"  as  they  literally 
call  their  Emperors  to  this  day.  The  advent 
story  of  these  divine  progenitors  is  certainly 
interesting,  and  suggestive  of  several  things. 
Izanagi  the  god  and  Izanami  the  goddess 
each  took  a  walk  around  the  borders  of  the 
newly-created  realm,  going  in  opposite  di- 
rections. At  length  they  met.  Instantly 
Izanami  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  what  a  beautiful 
man!"  But  Izanagi  was  disappointed  that  a 
woman  should  precede  him  in  anything,  even 
in  the  matter  of  flattering  speech;  so  this 
literal  lord  of  creation  commanded  that  they 
walk  around  the  islands  again,  and  that  the 
goddess  keep  silent  upon  their  meeting,  thus 
giving  him  his  divine  right  of  precedence. 
Izanami  meekly  obeyed  him,  and  when  next 
they  met  she  held  her  nimble  tongue,  while 
her  liege  lord  sluggishly  ejaculated,  "Oh, 
what  a  beautiful  woman!" 

Of  course,  they  lived  happily  ever  after- 
wards. But  this  story  is  unintentionally  sug- 
gestive of  several  conclusions,  all  of  which 
happen  to  be  true.    The  Japanese  woman  is 

103   ■ 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

brighter  by  nature  than  the  average  Japan- 
ese man.  But  the  man,  by  the  rule  of  brute 
force,  compels  her  to  give  way  before  him, — 
then  speaks  the  woman's  speech  after  her.  So 
Eve  has  her  way  after  all!  Japan  has  been 
for  ages  preeminent  in  the  subjection  of 
woman.  But  there,  as  elsewhere,  the  truth 
is  that  "  the  hand  that  rocks  the  cradle  rules 
the  world." 


This  leads  me  to  speak  of  those  Japanese 
home-makers,  the  mothers,  the  wives,  the 
women.  Yet  I  believe  I  know  less  about 
them  than  of  any  other  class  of  the  people. 
Indeed,  it  is  extremely  hazardous  to  speak 
with  assurance  of  the  characteristics  of  any 
of  the  people.  Missionaries  that  have  spent 
long  years  in  Japan  are  often  unwilling  to 
risk  any  definite  opinions  as  to  the  real  char- 
acter of  the  people;  and  when  they  do  ven- 
ture to  express  their  opinions,  some  one  else 
with  equal  or  superior  experience  is  likely  to 
think  just  the  opposite.  Nevertheless,  for 
one  who  keeps  his  eyes  wide  open,  there  are 
many  opportunities  for  observing  at  least 
the  surface  characteristics  of  the  native  life ; 
and  so,  perhaps,  I  shall  be  able  to  write  some- 

104 


HOME   LIFE 

what  of  the  Japanese  woiren,  not  as  they 
necessarily  are,  but  as  they  appear  to  me  to 
be. 

To  begin  with  that  which  is  easiest,  let 
me  try  to  sketch  how  they  look.  They  are 
considerably  smaller  than  Americans,  and 
fashion  ordains  that  they  stoop.  Their 
complexion  is  neither  j'^ellow  nor  brown,  but 
something  between  the  two — a  dusky  sort  of 
fairness  that  is  by  no  means  unattractive. 
Almost  W' ithout  exception — and  I  saw  no  ex- 
ceptions— they  have  luxuriant  growths  of 
very  dark-brown  or  else  a  jet-black  hair.  It 
is  wonderful  to  see  how  some  of  them  man- 
age to  arrange  their  crow^n  of  glory.  The 
hair  is  smeared  with  some  unguent  that 
makes  it  glossy  and  smooth,  and  then  it  is 
gracefully  rolled  into  outstanding  convolu- 
tions, whereon  gay  ornaments  are  fastened. 
Others  patronize  different  styles  of  arrange- 
ment, but  all  are  equally  interesting  to  the 
new-comer.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  a 
woman  invalid  to  cut  off  all  of  her  beautiful 
hair  and  send  it  to  a  temple  in  fulfilment  of 
a  vow  made  so  to  do  if  the  patron  divinity 
w^ould  but  spare  the  life.  I  have  often  seen 
these  votive  offerings  suspended  at  the  en- 
trance to  some  Buddhist  temple,  to  which 

105 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

women  flock  by  multitudes  in  seemingly 
earnest  jDrayer. 

It  would  be  unfair  to  leave  their  complex- 
ions where  I  did.  Often  a  healthy,  brilliant 
rosiness  creeps  athwart  the  dusky  cheek,  and 
makes  a  Japanese  almost  beautiful.  I  have, 
however,  seen  but  one  woman  that  I  should 
term  a  genuine  beauty.  She  had  the  warm, 
dreamy  eyes  that  adorn  all  her  sisters;  her 
complexion  was  perfect  in  a  brunette  way; 
her  nose  straight,  her  mouth  full  but  refined, 
her  figure  slender,  and  her  hands  exquisitely 
delicate.  My  entrancement  was  somewhat 
dispelled  when  she  pulled  out  a  tiny  pipe  and 
began  to  smoke,  as  almost  all  Japanese 
women  are  said  to  do. 

As  to  the  kind  of  clothes  the  women  wear, 
the  main  garment  consists  in  a  loose  robe 
with  flowing  sleeves.  The  quality  of  the 
clothes  varies,  of  course,  according  to  the  im- 
jDortance  of  the  occasion.  Sometimes  it  is  of 
silk,  beautifully  decorated.  The  whole  gar- 
ment is  bound  to  the  waist  by  a  wide  silk  sash, 
which  is  tied  behind  into  an  enormous  bow, 
sometimes  reaching  almost  to  the  neck. 

The  Japanese  women,  like  so  many  Ameri- 
cans, often  succeed  in  spoiling  their  com- 
plexions by  the  undue  use  of  cosmetics.    Un- 

lOG 


HOME   LIFE 

like  Americans,  however,  no  attempt  is  made 
at  concealment  in  this  regard.  A  very  white 
rice-pow^der  is  bestowed  bounteously  upon 
the  soft  skin,  and  a  touch  of  scarlet  paint  is 
dabbed  into  the  centre  of  the  lower  lip. 

But  I  am  filling  in  my  sketch  with  a  de- 
scription of  how  our  sisters  look,  and  have 
but  little  space  left  to  tell  you  how  they  act. 
Before  leaving  the  subject,  however,  I  must 
not  omit  to  mention  the  unfortunately  promi- 
nent custom  of  blacking  the  teeth,  still  preva- 
lent among  married  women,  but  said  to  be 
dying  out.  Sound  teeth  of  glistening  white- 
ness are  thus  often  converted  into  hideous 
semblances  of  decay. 

One  of  the  first  points  that  attracted  my 
attention  in  the  Japanese  woman  is  the  uni- 
versal sweetness  of  her  voice  in  conversation. 
It  is  soft,  mellow,  flute-like.  The  same  can- 
not be  said  of  the  voice  in  song ;  it  then  seems 
transformed  by  some  evil  influence  into  the 
flat  squawk  of  a  duck.  At  the  commence- 
ments of  the  mission  schools  I  often  listened 
to  the  voices  as  trained  after  foreign  models. 
The  flatness,  the  lack  of  real  music,  was  still 
most  sadly  apparent;  and  I  particularly 
noted  a  certain  lif  elessness  in  the  singing,  so 

strongly  in  contrast  with  the  liveliness  of 

lor 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

American  girls  under  similar  circumstances. 
By  the  way,  one  does  not  fully  appreciate 
American  girls  until  they  are  out  of  sight. 
"Blessings  brighten  as  they  take  their 
flight." 

Yet  I  would  not  have  it  understood  that 
Japanese  women  are  habitually  lifeless. 
They  are  just  the  reverse  in  ordinary  inter- 
course. Their  good  nature  and  merriness  are 
irresistible.  Even  old  women,  with  silvered 
hair,  are  gay  and  almost  "jolly."  They 
crack  jokes  with  you  sometimes  at  a  tea- 
house, but  their  levity  is  withal  so  dignified 
and  refined  that  one  cannot  take  exception 
to  it  on  the  ground  of  familiarity. 

The  chief  attraction  of  the  Japanese 
woman,  as  I  have  already  hinted,  lies  in  her 
gentleness.  She  knows  how  to  spank  the 
baby  when  he  needs  it,  but  this  is  one  of 
those  exceptions  that  prove  the  rule.  She 
is  seemingly  tender  with  her  child,  though 
sometimes  she  does  not  scruple  to  extinguish 
its  new-born  life,  reasoning  that  it  is  better 
the  child  should  die  than  to  endure  a  life  of 
hardship.  Sad  instances  of  this  nature  oc- 
curred frequently  during  my  sojourn.  But, 
viewed  in  one  light,  this  is  an  additional 
proof    of    gentleness,     sadly    misdirected 

108 


HOME   LIFE 

though  it  be.  Think  how  the  murdering 
mother's  heart  must  bleed  as  she  darkens  that 
tiny  spark  of  Ufe;  and  yet  she  chooses  this 
personal  suffering  in  order  to  save  her  child, 
as  she  supposes — for  the  family  may  be  in 
deepest  poverty,  with  already  many  hungry 
little  mouths  crying  for  their  scant  supplies 
of  food. 

And  now  I  shall  but  dimly  indicate  the 
dark  background  of  the  picture  I  have  so  un- 
ably  sketched.  The  portrait  would  not  be 
true  should  I  quite  leave  out  the  gloom. 
These  gentle,  patient  souls,  whose  lives  are 
often  uncomplainingly  given  to  a  service  of 
the  most  exacting  kind;  who  submit  obedi- 
ently to  the  harsh  demands  of  father,  or 
brother,  or  husband;  they  have  not  learned 
the  same  high  ideal  of  womanly  purity  and 
honor  that  is  so  warmly  cherished  in  the 
hearts  of  those  that  love  the  Virgin's  Son. 
Whilst  some  are  pure  and  true,  many  more, 
outwardly  sweet  and  refined,  are  inwardly 
unclean.  Some  missionaries  that  have  spent 
long  years  in  the  country  deny  that  the  Jap- 
anese, as  a  nation,  have  any  conception  of 
chastity.  I  adjudge  this  a  harsh  and  hazard- 
ous assertion.  But  it  is  true  that  the  masses 
of  women  and  men  alike  are  ignorant  of 

109 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

I 

those  principles  of  right  that  animate  the 
ambition  of  the  Christian.  And  how  can  it 
be  otherwise,  seeing  they  know  not  the  source 
of  purity  and  peace? 

Confucianism,  which  moulds  the  morals 
of  Japan  as  well  as  of  China,  conceives  of 
womanhood  with  infinite  contempt.  An  emi- 
nent Japanese  Confucianist,  in  his  famous 
treatise  on  "  The  Whole  Duty  of  Woman," 
delights  in  deliverances  such  as  these: 

"  The  five  worst  maladies  that  afflict  the 
female  mind  are :  indocilitv,  discontent,  slan- 
der,  jealousy,  and  silhness.  Without  any 
doubt,  these  fixe  maladies  infest  seven  or 
eight  out  of  every  ten  women,  and  it  is  from 
these  that  arises  the  inferiority  of  women  to 
men.  The  worst  of  them  all,  and  the  parent 
of  the  other  four,  is  silliness.  Woman's 
nature,  in  comparison  with  man's,  is  as  the 
shadow  to  the  sunlight.  Hence,  as  viewed 
from  the  standard  of  man's  nature,  the  fool- 
ishness of  woman  fails  to  understand  the 
duties  that  lie  before  her  very  eyes,  perceives 
not  the  actions  that  will  bring  down  blame 
upon  her  own  head,  and  comprehends  not 
even  the  things  that  will  bring  down  calami- 
ties on  the  heads  of  her  husband  and  chil- 
dren. Such  is  the  stupidity  of  her  character 

110 


HOME   LIFE 

that  it  is  incumbent  on  her,  in  every  particu- 
lar, to  distrust  herself  and  to  obey  her  hus- 
band." 

The  teachings  of  Confucius,  as  recorded 
by  this  same  disciple,  state  these  "  Seven  Rea- 
sons for  Divorce:" 

"1.  A  woman  shall  be  divorced  for  dis- 
obedience to  her  father-in-law  or  mother-in- 
law. 

"  2.  A  woman  shall  be  divorced  if  she  fail 
to  bear  children,  the  reason  for  this  rule  be- 
ing that  women  are  sought  in  marriage  for 
the  purj^ose  of  giving  men  posterity. 

3.  Lewdness  is  a  reason  for  divorce. 

4.  Jealousy  is  a  reason  for  divorce. 

"5.  Leprosy,  or  any  like  foul  disease,  is  a 
reason  for  divorce. 

"6.  A  woman  shall  be  divorced,  who,  by 
talking  over  much  and  prattling  disrespect- 
fully, disturbs  the  harmony  of  kinsmen  and 
brings  trouble  on  her  household. 

"  7.   Stealing  is  a  reason  for  divorce." 

It  is  little  wonder  that  the  disciples  of  such 
teaching  hold  women  in  unutterable  con- 
tempt. Nor  is  it  easy  to  disabuse  the  minds 
of  Christian  converts,  of  this  ingrained  and 
shameful  prejudice.  It  fell  to  my  lot  to  wit- 
ness the  courtship  of  a  young  Christian  minis- 

111 


a 


a 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

ter.  He  came  shamefacedly  and  asked  that 
an  older  friend  be  permitted  to  go  find  a  wife 
for  him.  So  the  elderly  "  go-between"  went 
on  a  tour  of  investigation  up  the  river,  in 
search  of  a  Christian  wife.  On  his  return  he 
reported  to  the  groom-elect  that  he  had 
found  two  sisters,  and  asked  which  one  of 
them  was  preferred.  The  young  man  not 
unnaturally  replied  that  on  general  princi- 
ples he  would  choose  the  younger.  But  the 
old  man,  on  further  consideration  of  the 
question,  decided  that  the  elder  girl  would  be 
the  more  desirable. 

"  Oh,  all  right,"  said  the  complaisant  and 
contemptuous  groom;  "it's  a  matter  of  in- 
difference to  me." 

So  the  older  man  went  on  a  second  jour- 
ney up  the  river,  and  this  time  he  brought  the 
happy  damsel  back  with  him — the  Japanese 
bride  being  always  brought  for  marriage  to 
the  house  of  her  lordly  husband.  The  Chris- 
tian form  of  wedding  was,  of  course,  re- 
quested, but  the  bridegroom  wanted  the  cere- 
mony to  be  somewhat  seriously  modified. 

"Teacher,"  said  he  to  me,  "kindly  conde- 
scend to  deign  that  I  be  not  compelled  to 
stand  side  by  side  with  a  woman  before  spec- 
tators." 

112 


iBi«WMIW^Mii»1!iiTir»irif,iitiftlW 


> 


j; 


HOME   LIFE 

I  told  him  that  he  would  have  to  stand  be- 
side his  wife,  both  then  and  forever  there- 
after. 

"  Then,  at  least,"  he  pleaded,  "  at  least 
honorably  deign  to  let  it  be  so  that  I  shall 
not  have  to  touch  her  hand!" 

I  told  him  that  if  it  were  to  be  a  Christian 
ceremony  it  would  have  to  be  a  Christian 
ceremony.  But  I  shall  never  forget  how 
that  martyred  bridegroom,  at  the  fateful 
words,  "  Join  your  right  hands,"  actually 
clenched  his  teeth,  and  shut  his  eyes  fast, 
and  wheeled  towards  his  humble  bride  with 
his  hand  stuck  out  as  though  to  the  stroke  of 
an  axe! 

There  was  in  Tokyo  a  native  Christian 
pastor  who  asked  permission  of  his  mission- 
ary employers  to  come  to  America  for  study. 
They  were  about  to  accede  to  his  request, 
when  it  occurred  to  some  one  to  inquire  how 
he  intended  to  obtain  the  means.  Imagine 
the  amazement  of  his  questioners  when  he  re- 
plied that  it  was  his  intention  to  secure  the 
money  by  renting  out  his  wife  to  a  tem- 
porary life  of  shame!  "Morality"  still 
meant  to  him  little  more  than  the  "  filialism" 
of  a  subordinate  to  a  superior  authority; 
and  the  obedience  of  his  wife  to  her  hus- 

8  113 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

band's  behest  would  thus  have  been  an  act  of 
"  righteousness." 

The  modern  education  of  women  has 
not  kept  i^ace  with  the  general  educational 
scheme.  JNIr.  Lewis  points  out  that  after 
twenty  years  of  experience  the  reports  of 
the  educational  bureau  showed  that  while 
seventy-nine  per  cent,  of  the  boys  of  school 
age  were  under  instruction,  there  were  only 
forty-seven  per  cent,  of  the  girls.  The  de- 
partment took  a  great  step  forward  in  the 
year  1890,  however,  when  an  official  report 
declared  that "  female  education  is  the  source 
from  which  general  education  should  be  dif- 
fused over  the  whole  country;"  while  the 
establishment,  in  1901,  of  an  independent 
Women's  University  marked  a  great  ad- 
vance in  the  training  of  women.  Hitherto, 
as  has  been  shown,  woman  was  regarded 
as  but  a  toy  and  slave.  Her  domestic  duties 
engrossed  all  of  her  time,  and  they  were  of 
the  most  menial  order.  When  she  appeared 
socially,  it  was  always  in  the  position  of  an 
inferior.  But  Japan  is  reaching  out  towards 
the  light. 

If  it  be  true,  as  our  beloved  "  Autocrat"  so 
wisely  said,  that  a  man's  education  must  be- 
gin wdth  his  grandfather,  then  it  is  at  least 


<K 


HOME   LIFE 

equally  true  that  a  nation  cannot  be  spiritu- 
ally born  in  a  day.  The  Japanese  really  have 
no  such  word  as  "  home."  Until  we  can  teach 
them,  by  long  and  patient  effort,  the  prac- 
tical meaning  of  that  holy  word,  they  cannot 
have  entered  the  spiritual  fellowship  of 
Christian  nations.  But  just  as  the  Gospel 
in  days  of  old  slowly  but  surely  uplifted  the 
nations  of  Europe  by  teaching  the  sanctity 
of  childhood,  the  purity  of  womanhood,  and 
the  manliness  of  manhood,  so  at  length  the 
same  uplifting  power  will  bring  like  bless- 
ings to  Japan. 


115 


V 

THE  AWFUL  JAPANESE 
LANGUAGE 


^  What  it  is  Not — Honorifics — 
Chinese  Complications — The 
Blunders  of  Beginners — **Why 
I  Study  English'* 


The  Awful  Japanese  Language 

Mark  Twain  has  never  attempted  Jap- 
anese, else  he  would  never  have  written  his 
essay  on  "  The  Awful  German  Language." 
The  sturdy  speech  of  the  Teutons,  compli- 
cated as  it  is  in  its  constructions,  cumbersome 
in  its  verbal  forms,  and  perplexing  in  its 
genders,  is  simple  by  the  side  of  Nihon-Go, 
While  it  is  almost  true,  as  Mr.  Clemens  as- 
serts, that  there  are  more  exceptions  to  some 
German  rules  of  grammar  than  correspond- 
ents, it  is  certainly  true  that  the  German 
language  is  a  system,  with  a  well-articulated 
skeleton  and  a  logical  growth  of  compact 
flesh ;  but  colloquial  Japanese  is  a  dislocated 
heap  of  bones  waiting  for  an  anatomist  to  set 
them  in  place.  The  anatomist  has  not  yet 
been  found.  Consequently  the  language 
sadly  lacks  system.  It  is  dislocated  and 
often  illogical.  Many  of  its  growths,  and 
even  elements,  are  as  yet  quite  unexplained. 
It  is  hard. 

Of  course  I  speak  from  an  Occidental 

119 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

stand-point,  for  I  could  not  well  speak  other- 
wise. It  may  be  that,  to  an  Oriental,  the 
language  in  question  is  symmetrical  and  sys- 
tematic ;  but  I  doubt  it.  Certain  it  is  that  to 
one  whose  whole  mental  structure  and  train- 
ing seems  antipodal  to  Eastern  ways  of 
thought,  this  mass  of  unruly  words  is  little 
else  than  a  mass. 

But  let  us  to  our  task.  I  shall  not  presume 
to  tell  what  the  Japanese  language  is,  but 
rather  what  it  is  not.  To  compare  Japanese, 
then,  with  those  languages  usually  embraced 
in  a  college  curriculum,  and  to  note  its  points 
of  disagreement  with  them,  it  is  remarkable 
in  the  first  place  that  the  Japanese  language 
ignores  both  number  and  gender.  The  verb 
is  always  the  same,  whether  as  predicate  for 
the  first,  or  second,  or  third  persons.  Shoku- 
suru  means  I  eat,  you  eat,  he  or  she  eats,  we 
eat,  and  they  eat.  It  is  as  unchangeable  as 
the  notorious  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Per- 
sians. It  does  not  recognize  personality;  it 
has  no  person.  If  I  happen  to  be  in  a  hurry, 
and  run,  the  action  is  expressed  by  the  verb 
hashiru;  and  if  I  wish  to  speak  of  a  dog 
exercising  himself  in  the  same  manner,  it  is 
done  by  saying  hashiru.  The  simple,  indefi- 
nite  form  run,   expresses  both  meanings, 

120 


THE   LANGUAGE 

extending  also  to  the  plural,  as  indicated  in 
the  preceding  example  of  the  verb  eat. 

It  is  bad  enough  for  the  verb  to  be  so 
impersonal  and  so  numberless,  but  the  de- 
ficiency is  the  more  apparent  in  the  noun 
itself.  Inu  means  either  dog  or  dogs ;  hoshi 
may  denote  one  hat  or  a  dozen.  The  word 
for  the  coin  yen,  which  corresponds  to  our 
dollar,  does  not  vary  to  denote  multiplica- 
tion— this  task  is  left  to  the  numeral  adjec- 
tives. Only  where  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
are  w^ords  suffixed  to  signify  plurality ;  in  all 
other  cases  one  must  judge  from  the  context 
whether  the  subject  be  single  or  otherwise. 
And  so  it  is  with  gender. 

This  disregard  of  personality  naturally 
embraces  a  contempt  for  personal  pronouns, 
so  freely  used  in  English.  Only  in  cases  of 
special  emphasis  or  antithesis  is  the  reluctant 
pronoun  employed.  Thus  the  single  word 
kaerimashita  will  mean  "  I  have  come  back," 
or  ''  he,  we,  she,  you,  it,  they  came  back,"  ac- 
cording to  the  previous  drift  of  conversation. 
A  Japanese  will  often  discourse  for  half  an 
hour  without  using  a  single  personal  pro- 
noun. 

There  are  no  declensions  in  this  queer  lan- 
guage ;  neither  is  there  any  article.    It  is,  in 

121 


JAP  AX   TO-DAY 

fact,  maintained  by  one  of  the  leading  gram- 
marians that  there  are  properly  but  two  parts 
of  speech,  the  verb  and  the  noun.  He  de- 
clares that  the  particles  or  post-positions  and 
suffixes,  which  take  the  place  of  our  preposi- 
tions, conjunctions,  and  conjugational  ter- 
minations, were  themselves  originally  frag- 
ments of  nouns  and  verbs.  The  pronoun  and 
numeral  are  simply  nouns.  The  true  adjec- 
tive (including  the  adverb)  is  a  sort  of  neu- 
ter verb.  "  Altogether,  our  grammatical 
categories  do  not  fit  the  Japanese  language 
well." 

The  term  "post-position"  is  foreign  to 
English  grammar,  but  is  properly  employed 
to  designate  the  Japanese  particle  corre- 
sponding to  our  preposition ;  for  the  people, 
who  really  seem  perverse  in  their  habit  of 
acting  contrariwise  to  us,  place  this  particle 
after  the  noun,  instead  of  before  it.  There 
is  no  stable  form  for  the  arrangement  of  a 
sentence,  as  in  English;  consequently  a  sepa- 
rate post -position  is  required  to  show  each 
distinct  case  relation.  Thus  ga  or  wa  is  the 
sign  of  the  nominative;  wo,  placed  after  its 
noun,  of  course,  like  all  the  rest,  denotes  the 
objective  or  accusative;  and  no  the  posses- 
sive.   These  particles  are  very  numerous  and, 

122 


THE   LANGUAGE 

to  make  the  matter  worse,  they  have  various 
synonyms. 

The  statement  was  just  made  that  Japan- 
ese has  no  declensions,  and  yet  there  are 
adjective  terminations,  varying  to  express 
case  relation,  that  approximate  such  a  defini- 
tion. This  is  an  additional  source  of  annoy- 
ance and  perplexity  to  the  student,  who,  for 
instance,  in  using  the  word  "white,"  must 
vary  it,  accordingly  as  it  is  used  as  an  attri- 
bute, predicate,  or  stem,  into  shiroi,  shiroku, 

or  shiro. 

Another  characteristic  of  Japanese  is  its 
full  and  complicated  system  of  honorifics. 
Different  forms  are  used  to  express  differ- 
ent degrees  of  politeness  and  respect,  to 
which  custom  conformity  is  necessary  if  one 
would  appear  at  all  well-bred  or  educated. 
Honorifics  are  used  in  speaking  of  the  ac- 
tions or  possessions  of  the  person  addressed, 
while  depreciatory  or  humble  forms  are  em- 
ployed in  speaking  of  one's  self.  In  other 
words,  what  we  should  style  the  first  person 
is  self-depreciatory,  and  the  second  person  is 
complimentary.  In  speaking  of  others, 
honorifics  are  used  if  the  person  spoken  of  is 
superior  in  rank  to  the  person  spoken  to,  or 
if  he  is  present,  and,  though  not  a  superior, 

123 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

at  least  an  equal,  or  assumed  to  be  so  for 
courtesy's  sake.  As  stated,  there  are  also 
gradations  in  the  use  of  these  honorific  terms, 
according  to  the  greater  or  less  respect  meant 
to  be  shown  the  person  spoken  to  or  of. 
These  idioms  affect  not  only  the  vocabulary, 
but  the  very  grammar  itself.  It  is  saturated 
with  them. 

Several  chapters  of  this  book  would  be 
necessary  in  order  to  give  some  adequate  idea 
of  the  perverse  grammatical  constructions. 
But  that  would  be  outside  the  purpose  of  this 
sketch,  which  purports  to  show  only  what  the 
language  is  not,  when  contrasted  with  the 
English.  Perhaps  this  cannot  better  be  done 
than  by  rendering  a  few  simple  phrases  into 
their  exact  Japanese  equivalents,  as  regards 
construction.  Thus,  "Please  excuse  me," 
becomes  "August  excuse  deign;"  "Go 
slowly,"  "  Augustly  leisurely  going  deign  to 
be;"  "  Sit  down  a  moment,"  "  A  little  honor- 
ably hip-suspending  deign;"  "I  feel  bad," 
"Bodily  state  bad  is;"  "Please  tell  me," 
"  Causing-to-hear  condescend;"  "Good- 
evening,"  "This  night  as-for;"  "Good- 
morning,"  "  Honorable  earliness  is." 

From  these  examples,  two  conclusions  may 
easily  be  drawn:  first,  that  honorifics  com- 

124 


THE   LANGUAGE 

plicate  the  language  almost  hopelessly,  and 
secondly,  that  it  is  impossible  to  translate 
English  literally  into  Japanese.  The  Eng- 
lish phrase  must  first  be  contemplated  from  a 
Japanese  point  of  view,  and  this  reclothed 
expression  then  translated  into  its  equiva- 
lents. 

By  this  time  the  reader  is  doubtless  pre- 
pared for  anything.  He  will  therefore  not 
be  surprised  upon  learning  that  the  above 
remarks  apply  to  but  half  of  the  Japanese 
language,  which  is  distinctly  divided  into  two 
languages,  the  spoken  and  the  ^vritten.  The 
latter  has  a  different  grammar  from  that  of 
the  spoken  language,  and  employs  to  some 
extent  a  different  vocabularly.  Moreover, 
its  modes  of  visible  expression  are  extremely 
difficult  of  comprehension  and  manipulation, 
since  it  employs  no  less  than  a  half-dozen 
alphabets  of  seventy-two  letters  each,  besides 
necessitating  a  scholarly  knowledge  of  Chi- 
nese. For  Chinese  has  established  itself,  so 
to  speak,  as  the  Latin  and  Greek  of  Japan, 
with  this  difference,  that  it  lends  its  thou- 
sands of  written  signs  bodily.  The  two  lan- 
guages are  wedded,  without  the  remotest 
prospect  of  possible  divorce.  China  supplies 
to  Japan  names  for  almost  all  the  new  im- 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

plements,  sciences,  and  ideas,  that  are  being 
introduced  from  the  West.  JNIoreover,  this 
influx  of  Chinese  terms  is  by  no  means  in  its 
inception.  It  has  been  in  order  for  more 
than  a  millenium,  and  its  final  effect  is  to 
discredit  the  original  Japanese  equivalents, 
so  that  a  foreigner  that  wishes  to  be  con- 
sidered an  elegant  speaker  should  gradually 
accustom  himself  to  employ  Chinese  words 
very  freely,  except  when  addressing  unedu- 
cated persons. 

In  some  instances  the  interlocking  of  the 
two  languages  produces  a  seemingly  need- 
less perplexity,  as  in  the  case  of  numerals. 
Only  Chinese  numerals  are  used  above  the 
number  ten,  but  below  that  the  two  forms 
exist  side  by  side,  and  one  must  be  chosen  or 
rejected  according  to  the  etymological  his- 
tory of  the  word  it  governs.  One  day  I  em- 
ployed a  Japanese  numeral  instead  of  a  Chi- 
nese, quite  ignorantly,  of  course,  and  for  the 
reason  that  it  was  easier  to  remember.  I  no- 
ticed a  restrained  smile  pass  over  the  faces  of 
two  or  three  that  heard  me,  and  subsequently 
learned  that  my  mistake  w^as  about  the  equiv- 
alent of  such  an  English  barbarism  as  one 
w^ould  commit  in  speaking  of  a  herd  of  birds ! 

It  is  not  easy  to  store  the  memory  with 

126 


THE   LANGUAGE 

strange  words  and  their  correct  pronuncia- 
tion. To  illustrate:  I  have  committed  that 
irritating  blunder  of  washing  my  face  in 
soapy  water  without  a  towel  near  at  hand. 
With  eyes  tight  shut,  I  grope  for  the  towel- 
rack,  and  grope  in  vain,  for  there  is  nothing 
on  it.  Toku  San,  the  servant,  is  called,  and 
I  congratulate  myself  on  my  good  memory 
in  recalling  the  word  for  towel,  which  I 
enounce  in  a  commanding  tone.  Toku  San, 
ejaculating  an  assentive  '' Hai/'  hastens 
away.  JNIeanwhile  my  eyes  are  smarting, 
and  the  water  is  trickling  down  my  back. 
Toku  San  returns;  the  misery  is  over! 
Eagerly  I  reach  out  towards  him,  without 
daring  to  raise  those  leaky  lids,  and  finally 
clutch — a  pin-cushion ! 

On  another  occasion,  at  a  tea-house,  I  tried 
to  ask  for  a  plate,  but  succeeded  only  in 
making  the  landlady  believe  that  I  was 
hungry  for  monkey, — which  did  not  seem  in 
the  least  to  surj)rise  her,  b}^  the  way,  as  she 
had  evidently  learned  that  in  the  case  of  "  the 
hairy  foreigner"  there  is  no  accounting  for 
tastes.  The  infinitesimal  variation  of  certain 
vowel  quantities  is  accountable  for  ludicrous 
mistakes.  I  never  did  learn  the  difference 
between  a  persimmon  and  an  oyster,  and  I 

12T 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

gravely  doubt  whether  anybody  else  has. 
But  this  is  not  so  vital  a  matter  as  that  which 
vexed  a  missionary  friend  of  mine.  Ambi- 
tious to  f)reach  as  soon  as  possible,  he  deliv- 
ered one  night  a  learned  and  eloquent  dis- 
course on  the  attributes  of  God,  after  he  had 
been  in  the  country  six  months.  The  faces 
of  his  hearers  speedily  assumed  an  expression 
of  mystified  interest.  This  interest  rapidly 
deepened  into  something  approaching  awe. 
But  their  awe  presently  gave  way  to  laugh- 
ter, hilarious,  uproarious,  and  disconcerting, 
as  it  dawned  upon  them  that  the  missionary 
was  not  talking  about  "turtles"  at  all,  but 
was  trying  to  talk  about  God.  The  two 
words  being  very  similar  to  an  untrained 
ear,  he  had  been  insisting  that  Turtles  created 
the  world,  and  in  them  we  live,  and  move, 
and  have  our  being ! 

Another  missionary  once  acquitted  himself 
with  a  feeling  of  great  satisfaction.  This 
feeling  w^as  intensified  as  a  dignified  and  in- 
terested listener  came  forward  with  words 
of  orratified  comment.  But  the  sensations  of 
the  preacher  may  be  better  imagined  than  de- 
scribed as  his  appreciative  auditor  continued : 

"  Truly,  as  for  the  honorable  sermon,  it 
was  greatly  interesting.    I  listened  to  it  well. 

128 


THE   LANGUAGE 

If  you  ask  why,  it  was  the  first  time  I  ever 
heard  a  discourse  in  the  EngUsh  tongue. 
And  how^  much  your  language  is  hke  the  lan- 
guage of  Japan!" 

Space  fails  me  to  tell  of  the  invalid  mis- 
sionary who  asked  his  startled  servant  for  a 
bath  of  molasses  instead  of  a  bath  of  rain 
water;  or  of  the  cannibal  missionary  who 
said  that  "  To-day  for  the  first  time  I  ate  a 
baby,"  instead  of,  "  To-day  for  the  first  time 
I  ate  bamboo." 

Sufficient  instances  have  been  cited  to  jus- 
tify the  remark  of  the  first  great  missionary 
to  Japan,  Francis  Xavier,  who  in  the  six- 
teenth century  expressed  the  emphatic  con- 
viction that  the  language  of  the  natives  was 
clearly  an  invention  of  the  devil  to  prevent 
the  preaching  of  the  Christian  faith.  He 
might  have  added  with  equal  justification 
that  it  seems  to  be  maliciously  designed  for 
preventing  the  exercise  of  Christian  works 
on  the  part  of  those  who  learn  it;  for  it  is 
very  hard  even  for  a  missionary  to  study 
Japanese  and  at  the  same  time  refrain  his 
lips  that  they  speak  no  guile — in  forcible 
English  expletives,  for  the  strongest  Japan- 
ese swear-word  is  "That!"  How  do  I  wish 
that  those  beautiful  rumors  were  true,  and 

9  1^ 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

the  Chinese  ideographs  supplanted  by  the 
Roman  alphabet!    How  vividly  do  I  recall 
the  slow  perspiring  hours  spent  in  poring 
over    ponderous    dictionaries    and    chaotic 
grammars!     A  grammar  and  a  dictionary 
are  beside  me,  and  another  dictionary  is  in 
my  lap.    One  is  Japanese,  the  other  Chinese. 
They  tell  me  that  when  I  have  learned  about 
four  thousand  of  the   sixty-odd  thousand 
Chinese    characters    I    shall    be    prepared 
to  learn  something  about  the  literary  lan- 
guage.    Usually,  the  Chinese  character  has 
its  Japanese  equivalents  printed  by  its  side; 
but  sometimes  these  are  omitted,  and  fre- 
quently the  Japanese  word  cannot  be  found 
at  all  without  recourse  to  the  Chinese.     So 
the  proper  Chinese  ideograph  is  finally  traced 
to  its  hidden  lair  through  a  laborious  process 
of  interlocking  indexes  of  radicals.     Once 
found,  however,  you  have  before  you  only 
the  English  meaning,  for  the  Japanese  pro- 
nunciation of  the  ideograph  is  sure  to  be  very 
different  from  the  original,  being  susceptible, 
indeed,  of  three  or  four  different  readings 
according  to  circumstances.    You  must  wait 
until  your  teacher  comes  to  tell  you  what  to 
call  it.    This  mild-mannered  and  obsequious 
individual  comes  once  a  day,  five  days  in  the 

130 


THE    LANGUAGE 

week,  and  stays  two  hours  or  more  each  visit. 
He  means  well,  but  you  must  be  continually 
teaching  him  how  to  teach  you.  JNIoreover, 
his  incorrigible  politeness  often  prevents  him 
from  telling  you  of  your  mistakes,  and  some- 
times even  leads  him  to  speak  "  pidgin"-Jap- 
anese,  in  order  to  adapt  himself  to  your  be- 
nighted understanding.  Consequently  much 
of  your  precious  time  is  wasted  in  unlearn- 
ing what  was  wrongly  learned.  The  teacher 
usually  proceeds  upon  the  hypothesis  that 
a  foreigner  cannot  learn  Japanese  any  way, 
and  that  the  most  the  teacher  may  hope  to  do 
is  to  persuade  him  that  he  can.  This  kindly 
endeavor  almost  always  fails. 

There  are,  however,  delicious  compensa- 
tions. The  inflated  youths  of  the  Island 
Empire  are  ambitious  to  learn  "  the  Engliss," 
with  motives  that  will  be  illuminated  pres- 
ently. Their  vanity  prompts  them  to  a  cease- 
less display  of  their  ignorance.  It  is  manna 
to  a  hungry  soul  to  hear  them  flounder 
through  a  simple  English  phrase.  A  mis- 
sionary was  waiting  at  a  railway  station.  A 
sauntering  student  became  imbued  with  the 
double  desire  of  ascertaining  the  alien's  des- 
tination and  of  airing  his  speaking  acquaint- 
ance with  an  alien  tongue.     So  he  struck  a 

131 


JAPAN    TO-DAY 

soldierly  attitude  before  my  overawed  friend, 
and  shouted  forth  the  stentorian  question, — 

"What  you  go?" 

My  avengeful  friend  said  to  him,  in 
soothing  tones, — 

"  Suppose  you  try  that  over  again." 

The  student  retired  into  privacy,  lost  him- 
self in  laborious  thought  for  about  ten  min- 
utes, and  then  renewed  the  charge. 

"  You  go  what?"  he  thundered. 

The  missionary  collapsed. 

I  once  saw  an  elderly  foreigner  lose  his 
temper  with  an  obstreperous  coolie.  It  is 
said  that  in  moments  of  profound  self-aban- 
donment the  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  how- 
ever long  his  residence,  wdll  recur  to  the 
language  of  youth.  At  any  rate,  in  this 
particular  instance  the  elderly  and  pious 
gentleman  backed  the  coolie  up  against  a 
w^all,  clutched  him  where  the  lapel  of  his  coat 
would  have  been  had  he  worn  any,  and  ad- 
ministered in  classical  but  vigorous  English 
a  choice  dissertation  calculated  to  inculcate 
a  higher  standard  of  ethical  ideals.  The 
coolie  of  necessity  missed  the  form  of  this 
eloquent  address,  being  absolutely  ignorant 
of  English;  but  its  spirit  was  by  no  means 
lost  upon  him.     He  began  to  tremble  vio- 

132 


THE   LANGUAGE 

lently;  jerked  his  head  continually  in  wild 
nods  of  assent  to  all  that  was  going  forward; 
and  finally  fell  to  his  knees  in  abject  terror, 
seized  the  irate  orator  about  the  legs,  and 
piteously  begged  for  mercy.  It  gives  one 
renewed  confidence  and  self-respect  to  see  a 
thing  like  that. 

I  beg  you  to  notice  some  of  the  English 
signs  that  adorn  the  streets  for  the  seduction 
of  the  shopping  globe-trotter.  The  shop- 
keepers of  Japan,  like  the  students,  are  anx- 
ious to  show  all  they  know  about  our  lan- 
guage— and  succeed.  Here  is  a  sign  which 
denotes  the  presence  of  a 

LADIES  CLOTHS  TAILER. 

Presumably  the  gentleman  is  a  seamstress. 
Another  knight  of  the  needle  is  somewhat 
more  ambitious,  with  his  alluring  announce- 
ment: 

TAILOR  NATIVE  GOUNTEY,  DRAPER,  MILLINER 

&  LADIES  OUTFATTER,   THE  RIBBONS, 

THE  LACES,  THE  VEILS,  THE 

FEELINGS. 

Here  a  dry-goods  house  gravely  assures  us, 
in  large  letters,  that 

DO  NOT  BE  CHEAPEN,  NO  BUY, 

133 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

while  another  mystifies  with  the  promise, 

EUROPEAN   MONKEY  JACKET  MAKE  FOR  THE 

JAPANESE. 

Here  we  are  offered  at  a  low  price, 

THE   IMPRO^^D    MILK. 

Yonder  is  a 

TIME   PIECE    SNOP, 
TO  SELL  THE  INSURABLE  W^ATCH. 

Over  there  is  a 

CARVER  &  GILDER  FOR  SALE, 

while  above  an  excellent  restaurant  gleams 
the  brutally  humble  announcement, 

A  GROG   SHOP,   A   POT   HOUSE. 

Now,  I  abominate  the  personal  use  of  the 
razor.  And  I  was  so  often  allured,  in  the 
early  days,  by  the  frequent  signs  of  "  baber 
sop"  and  "  the  baber,"  that  one  day  my  com- 
bined curiosity  and  laziness  got  the  better  of 
me  as  my  jinrikisha  was  whirling  past  the 
positively  irresistible  sign, 

SAVINGS  &   CUTINGS  OF   HAIRS  WITHIN. 

134 


THE   LANGUAGE 

Would  that  I  had  let  the  wheels  still  whirl ! 
For  one's  experience  outside  the  "  baber  sop" 
is  far  funnier  than  when  we  are  once  in  the 
little  crazy  chair  before  the  mirror  that  makes 
one  look  like  a  comj)osite  photograph.  In 
the  first  place,  things  are  not  clean;  in  this 
respect  the  tonsorial  parlors  seem  to  be  the 
exception  that  proves  the  rule  of  Japanese 
cleanliness.  In  the  second  place,  the  barber 
does  not  understand  English,  which  is  incon- 
venient for  strangers,  since  one  is  likely  to 
lose  a  cherished  moustache  by  requesting  that 
it  kindly  be  spared.  But  these  are  only 
minor  discomforts.  The  brush  itself  is  an  in- 
strument of  torture,  being  about  as  soft  as 
the  end  of  a  broom  handle.  The  razor  is 
made  after  the  pattern  of  an  antiquated 
jack-knife,  minus  the  pivoted  blade  and  good 
steel.  Moreover,  the  executioner  holds  this 
tool  at  right  angles  to  your  skin,  with  conse- 
quences that  may  be  better  imagined  than  de- 
scribed. The  sweep  of  his  hand  is  something 
wonderful.  And  after  he  has  swept  your 
face  with  his  scythe,  he  produces  sundry 
other  sinister-looking  instruments,  and  pro- 
ceeds to  shave  the  inside  of  your  nostrils  and 
ears.  Then  he  brushes  out  the  debris  with 
tiny  scrub-brooms,  breaks  the  yolk  of  an  egg 

135 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

in  your  hair,  and  humbly  informs  the  honor- 
able guest  that  the  august  shave  is  at  an  end. 
A  little  more  and  the  guest  would  be  in  the 
same  locality.  The  redeeming  feature  of  the 
affair  is  in  the  fact  that  you  have  to  pay  only 
five  sen  for  the  performance.  You  then  go 
home  and  shave  yourself. 

This  is  all  tlie  strict,  sad  truth. 

I  had  already  tried  still  another  disastrous 
experiment  in  the  matter  of  shaving.  I  had 
been  in  Japan  but  a  few  short  days,  remem- 
ber; moreover,  I  was  young,  unfledged.  Sir 
Edwin  Arnold's  gentle  maunderings  had 
informed  me  that  a  Japanese  valet  knows 
everything;  and  now  I  owned  a  real  live 
valet,  my  first  and  last.  Incidentally,  he 
w^as  cook  and  housekeeper  and  errand-boy 
and  chamber-maid,  and  also  a  JNIethodist 
preacher;  age,  about  fifty  years.  I  thought 
that,  added  to  his  numerous  other  accom- 
plishments, he  certainly  must  know  how  to 
shave, — especially  as  he  wore  a  thin,  scraggy 
beard  of  his  own,  whereof  he  was  mightily 
proud.  I  remember  it  was  a  Sunday  morn- 
ing. I  took  my  dictionary-holder,  brought 
all  the  way  from  America,  and  with  it  at  the 
back  of  a  cliair  to  hold  my  lordly  head,  ex- 
temporized a  tolerable  imitation  of  a  barber's 

136 


THE   LANGUAGE 

chair.  Then  I  took  my  new  native  dic- 
tionary, and  looked  up  the  Japanese  word 
for  "shave."  There  it  was:  Soru,  Soru, 
Soru,  as  I  said  it  over  and  over  again  to 
myself. 

Finally  I  called  the  docile  Toku  San  in, 
and,  assuming  an  attitude  of  command, 
ejaculated, — 

''Sorur 

Toku  San  shook  his  head  in  dismay,  and 
rapidly  answered,  "  Wakarimasen/' — which 
being  interpreted,  means,  "  I  humbly  do  not 
understand." 

I  understood  enough  to  understand  that, 
but  I  was  bent  upon  using  my  valet.  So  I 
assumed  a  somewhat  sterner  aspect,  accom- 
panied my  remark  with  a  dignified  stamp  of 
the  foot,  and  shouted  in  a  tone  which  could 
not  be  ignored,  the  only  word  I  knew  upon 
the  subject: 

''Sorur 

Toku  San  was  always  extremely  anxious 
to  please, — the  same  who  once  went  out  to 
kill  a  whale  for  me.  And  now  he  was 
obviously  discomfited.  He  scratched  his 
head  vociferously,  sucked  his  breath  in  noisily 
between  his  teeth,  and  said, — 

"  Danna  San,  sukosM  mo  wakarimasen" 

13T 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

— "  Mr.  Master,  I  humbly  do  not  understand 
a  little  bit." 

Still  one  more  effort  I  made  with  my  sole 
but  steadfast  word,  accompanying  it  this 
time,  however,  with  a  sweeping  tonsorial  ges- 
ture across  my  callow  countenance.  This 
time,  Toku  San  evidently  understood.  A 
tremulous,  but  joyous,  smile  flitted  across  his 
utterly  toothless  mouth.  With  glad  and 
hasty  step  he  retired  into  the  adjoining 
apartment  to  make  the  grave  and  necessary 
preparations. 

Meanwhile,  I  became  lost  in  the  laby- 
rinths of  my  darling  dictionary,  and  did 
not  look  up  for  some  minutes.  When  I 
did,  the  devoted  Toku  San  was  stand- 
ing before  my  mirror,  m}^  own  particular 
shaving-brush  in  one  hand,  my  razor  wob- 
bling wildly  in  the  other,  his  crinkled  brown 
face  creamy  with  imported  lather,  about  to 
offer  the  supreme  sacrifice  of  his  tenderly- 
nourished  whiskers  on  the  altar  of  filial  de- 
votion ! 

After  this  linguistic  confession  of  my  o^vn, 
I  am  sufficiently  malicious  to  append  one  or 
two  more  kinetoscopic  sketches  of  the  wrest- 
lings of  the  native  mind  wdth  the  com- 
plexities of  English  construction.    The  first 

138 


THE   LANGUAGE 

consists  in  a  letter  from  a  pupil  who  was 
"  perfecting"  his  English. 

"  Dear  Sir  :  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  that  you 
and  your  family  are  very  well  and  I  am  also  quite 
well  as  usual,  but  my  grandfather's  disease  is  very 
severe  without  changing  as  customary.  I  fear  that 
it  is  a  long  time  since  I  have  pay  a  visit  you.  I 
wish  your  pardon  to  get  away  my  remote  crime. 
We  have  only  a  few  hot  in  Saga  as  well  as  summer 
is  over,  and  we  feel  to  be  very  cool  in  morning  and 
evening.  Sometimes  we  have  an  earthquake  here 
at  now,  but  the  mens  was  afright  no  more.  I 
grieves  that  a  terrible  accident  took  place  in  the 
school  of  military  Saga.  The  story  of  it,  a  scholar 
had  put  to  death  some  colleague  with  a  greate 
stick  on  the  floor  and  a  doctor  of  anatomy  dissected 
immediately  with  dead  disciple,  then  all  pupils  of 
school  were  now  to  question  its  matter  in  the  judge- 
ment seat;  but  do  not  it  decide  yet.  Unequivocal 
matter  would  speak  you  of  kind  letter." 

Professor  Chamberlain,  in  his  delightful 
Httle  encyclopsedia,  entitled  "  Things  Japan- 
ese," cites  an  almost  incredible  quotation 
from  a  book  pubhshed  in  Japan  in  1886  for 
the  purpose  of  teaching  "  the  practical  use 
of  English  conversation  for  police  authori- 
ties." The  police  having  to  deal  very  largely 
with  organs  of  the  human  anatomy,  the  work 

139 


II 


ii 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

opens  with  a  vocabulary  of  useful  anatomi- 
cal terms.  Among  these  are  listed  "  a  gung," 
a  jow,"  "the  mustacheo;"  diseases  such  as 
a  caucer,"  "blind,"  "a  ginddiness/'  "the 
megrun,"  "  a  throat  wen,"  and  other  words 
useful  to  policemen.  The  instructor  devotes 
the  remainder  of  his  manual  to  "  Misserani- 
ous  Subjects,"  comprising  typical  conversa- 
tions which  are  to  be  committed  to  memory 
somewhat  after  the  order  of  JNIark  Twain's 
memorable  Ollendorff  system.  Here  is  a 
supposititious  dialogue  between  a  Japanese 
policeman  and  a  British  blue- jacket,  as  re- 
corded in  this  "  royal  road  to  language  learn- 
mg: 

Policeman.  "  What  countryman  are  you  ?" 

Sailor.  "  I  am  a  sailor  belonged  to  the 
'  Golden  Eagle,'  the  English  man-of-war." 

P.  "Why  do  you  strike  this  Jinrikisha- 
man?" 

S.  "  He  told  me  impolitely." 

P.  "What  does  he  told  you  impolitely?" 

S.  "  He  insulted  me  saying  loudly  '  the 
Sailor,  the  Sailor,'  when  I  am  passing 
here." 

P.  "  Do  you  striking  this  man  for 
that?" 

S.  "Yes." 

140 


THE   LANGUAGE 

P.  "  But  do  not  strike  him  for  it  is  f or- 
bided." 

S.  ''1  strike  him  no  more." 

A  momentary  gleam  of  diffidence  seems  to 
cross  the  poUce  mind  when  one  pohceman 
says  to  another,  "You  speak  the  Enghsh 
very  well,"  and  the  other  rephes,  "  You  jest." 

One  more  instance,  and  I  am  done.  I  cite 
it  not  only  as  a  specimen  of  the  woes  of  am- 
bitious Japanese  youth  in  learning  Enghsh, 
but  also  because  it  reveals  rather  frankly  the 
motive  of  their  ambition,  a  motive  perfectly 
intelligible  to  those  who  by  residence  among 
them  have  become  acquainted  with  their  al- 
most frenzied  patriotism,  or  "Jingoism," 
which  they  boastfully  term  ''Ymnato-dama- 
shiir  or,  "the  Japanese  soul."  I  had  told 
the  advanced  class  in  Enghsh  essay  to  write 
on  "Why  I  Study  Enghsh."  The  conclu- 
sion of  one  of  the  brightest  lads  appeared  as 
follows : 

"  The  English  is  the  language  of  the  most 
strongest  nations.  Whosoever  wish  to  con- 
quer any  country,  he  must  know  the  country 
and  get  the  people's  confidence.  But  this 
will  not  be  done  without  he  understand  the 
language.  Now  we  will  learn  the  English. 
And  then  our  na^y  shall  sail  across  the  sea, 

141 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

we  will  conquer  the  England,  we  will  con- 
quer also  our  dear  Teacher's  country,  and 
the  flag  of  Great  Japan  will  wave  above  the 
all  world." 

Think  what  a  catastrophe  will  befall  the 
human  race  when  "the  all  world"  will  be 
compelled  to  learn  the  awful  Japanese  lan- 
guage ! 


142 


VI 

SERMONS   GARNISHED 
WITH  SMILES 


q  The  Buddhist  at  Church— A 
Sermon  on  the  Chief  End  of 
Man — Tales  from  Japanese 
Folk-Lore — A  Specimen  of 
Oriental  Humor — Religions  Old 
and  New 


VI 

Seemons  Garnished  with  Smiles 

The  sensational  preacher  in  America  could 
well  take  points  from  the  Buddhist  preacher 
in  Japan.  If  the  aim  of  a  model  homily  is 
to  present  a  modicum  of  morals  with  a  pleni- 
tude of  diversion,  then  the  Buddhist  priest 
is  certainly  a  model  preacher.  He  is  charm- 
ing as  a  raconteur,  and  his  "  application"  is 
never  stiff  enough  to  hurt.  He  is  in  earnest, 
but  in  earnest  to  amuse. 

Mr.  Mitf  ord,  in  his  "  Tales  of  Old  Japan," 
has  in  the  most  life-like  manner  sketched  the 
preacher  at  his  work. 

"We  were  shown  into  an  apartment  ad- 
joining a  small  chapel,"  says  Mr.  Mitford, 
"a  room  opening  on  to  a  tastily  arranged 
garden,  wealthy  in  stone  lanterns  and 
dwarfed  trees.  In  the  portion  of  the  room 
reserved  for  the  priest  stood  a  high  table, 
covered  with  a  cloth  of  white  and  scarlet  silk, 
richly  embroidered  with  flowers  and  ara- 
besques ;  upon  this  stood  a  bell,  a  tray  con- 
taining the  rolls  of  the  sacred  books,  and  a 

10  145 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

small  incense-burner  of  ancient  Chinese  por- 
celain. Before  the  table  was  a  hanging 
drum,  and  behind  it  was  one  of  those  high, 
back-breaking  arm-chairs  which  adorn  every 
Buddhist  temple.  In  one  corner  of  the  space 
destined  for  the  accommodation  of  the  faith- 
ful was  a  low  writing-desk,  at  which  sat,  or 
rather  squatted,  a  lay  clerk,  armed  with  a 
huge  i^air  of  horn  spectacles,  through  which 
he  glared,  goblin-like,  at  the  people,  as  they 
came  to  have  their  names  and  the  amount  of 
their  offerings  to  the  temple  registered. 
These  latter  must  have  been  small  things,  for 
the  congregation  seemed  poor  enough.  It 
was  principally  composed  of  old  women, 
nuns  with  bald  shiny  pates  and  grotesque 
faces,  a  few  petty  tradesmen,  and  half-a- 
dozen  chubby  children,  perfect  little  models 
of  decorum  and  devoutness.  One  ladv  there 
was,  indeed,  who  seemed  a  little  better  to 
do  in  the  w^orld  than  the  rest ;  she  was  nicely 
dressed,  and  attended  by  a  female  servant. 
She  came  in  with  a  certain  little  consequen- 
tial rustle,  and  displayed  some  coquetry  and 
a  very  pretty  bare  foot  as  she  took  her  place, 
and,  pulling  out  a  dandy  little  pipe  and  to- 
bacco-pouch, began  to  smoke.  Fire-boxes 
and  spittoons,  I  should  mention,  were  freely 

146 


Buddhist  Priests 


-i 

^ 


BUDDHIST    SERMONS 

handed  about;  so  that  half  an  hour  which 
passed  before  the  sermon  began  was  agree- 
ably spent.  In  the  meanwhile,  mass  was 
being  celebrated  in  the  main  hall  of  the  tem- 
ple, and  the  monotonous  nasal  drone  of  the 
plain  chant  was  faintly  heard  in  the  distance. 
"  So  soon  as  this  was  over,  the  lay  clerk 
sat  down  by  the  hanging  drum,  and,  to  its 
accompaniment,  began  intoning  the  prayer, 
'Na  Mu  Miyo  Ho  Ren  Go  Kiyo/  the  con- 
gregation fervently  joining  in  unison  with 
him.  These  words,  repeated  over  and  over 
again,  are  the  distinctive  prayer  of  the  Bud- 
dhist sect  of  Nichiren,  to  which  the  temple 
^ho-o-ji  is  dedicated.  They  are  approxima- 
ions  to  Sanscrit  sounds,  and  have  no  mean- 
mg  in  Japanese,  nor  do  the  worshippers  in 
using  them  know  their  precise  value. 

"  Soon  the  preacher,  gorgeous  in  red  and 
white  robes,  made  his  appearance,  following 
an  acolyte,  w^ho  carried  the  sacred  book,  called 
Hokke  (upon  which  the  sect  of  Nichiren  is 
founded) ,  on  a  tray  covered  with  scarlet  and 
gold  brocade.  Having  bowed  to  the  sacred 
picture  which  hung  over  the  toko  noma, — 
that  portion  of  the  Japanese  room  which  is 
raised  a  few  inches  above  the  rest  of  the 
floor,  and  which  is  regarded  as  the  place  of 

147 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

honor, — his  reverence  took  his  seat  at  the 
table  and  adjusted  his  robes;  then,  tying  up 
the  muscles  of  his  face  into  a  knot,  expressive 
of  utter  abstraction,  he  struck  the  bell  upon 
the  table  thrice,  burnt  a  little  incense,  and 
read  a  passage  from  the  sacred  book,  which 
he  reverently  lifted  to  his  head.  The  con- 
gregation joined  in  chorus,  devout,  but  un- 
intelligent ;  for  the  Word  written  in  ancient 
Chinese  is  as  obscure  to  the  ordinary  Japan- 
ese worshipper  as  are  the  Latin  liturgies  to  a 
high-capped  Norman  peasant-woman. 

"  While  his  flock  wrapped  up  copper  cash 
in  paper,  and  threw  them  before  the  table  as 
offerings,  the  priest  next  recited  a  passage 
alone,  and  the  lay  clerk  irreverently  entered 
into  a  loud  dispute  with  one  of  the  congrega- 
tion, touching  some  payment  or  other.  The 
preliminary  ceremonies  ended,  a  small 
shaven-pated  boy  brought  in  a  cup  of  tea, 
thrice  afterwards  to  be  replenished,  for  his 
reverence's  refreshment;  and  he,  having  un- 
tied his  face,  gave  a  broad  grin,  cleared  his 
throat,  swallowed  his  tea,  and  beamed  down 
upon  us,  as  jolly,  rosy  a  priest  as  ever  donned 
stole  or  scarf.  His  discourse,  which  was  de- 
livered in  the  most  f  amihar  and  easy  man- 
ner, was  an  extempore  dissertation  on  certain 

148 


BUDDHIST    SERMONS 

passages  from  the  sacred  books.  Whenever 
he  paused  or  made  a  point,  the  congregation 
broke  in  with  a  cry  of  'Nammiyol'  a  corrup- 
tion of  the  first  three  words  of  the  prayer 
cited  above,  to  which  they  always  contrived 
to  give  an  expression  or  intonation  in  har- 
mony with  the  preacher's  meaning." 

Among  my  chief  desires  on  taking  up  the 
study  of  the  language  was  a  wish  to  find 
what  manner  of  sermons  the  Buddliist  priests 
preach  to  their  people.  Without  further  ado 
I  append  a  translation,  made  in  those  early 
days,  of  a  typical  Japanese  sermon.  It 
might  be  fitly  entitled, — 

WHY  DO  WE  LIVE? 

"  In  a  certain  place  there  was  once  an  ex- 
traordinary dunce  by  the  name  of  Cho- 
kichi,"  begins  the  preacher.  "Now,  there 
are  very  many  dunces  in  this  world,  but  this 
particular  fellow  was  a  most  accomplished 
dunce.  In  the  matter  of  forgetting  things 
he  was  a  perfect  genius. 

"  One  day  his  mistress  said  to  him: 
" '  Chokichi,  this  is  the  anniversary  of  the 
death   of   our   principal   ancestor,   and  his 


149 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

reverence  the  priest  will  be  here  before  long. 
Therefore  we  must  have  the  customary  offer- 
ings ready  to  set  before  the  household  gods. 
So  hurry  to  the  market  and  buy  me  some 
carrots,  dock,  wild  potatoes,  muslirooms,  and 
lotus  root, — these  five  things.' 

"With  this  she  gave  him  five  farthings, 
and  Chokichi,  with  an  exclamation  of  assent, 
girded  up  his  loins  and  started  off. 

"  As  he  was  hurrying  along  to  market  on  a 
dog-trot,  he  met  his  neighbor  Chomatsu. 

"'Hello,  Chokichi!'  said  the  latter;  'you 
are  in  a  great  hurry.    What  are  you  after 
and  where  are  you  going,  anyhow?' 

"'To  market  to  buy  some  things.'  an- 
swered Chokichi,  as  he  hurried  on. 

Well,  what  are  you  going  to  buy?' 
What  am  I   going  to  buy?     I   don't 
know,  I'm  sure,'  w^as  the  reply. 

"So  the  story  goes.  This  forgetting  the 
important  business  that  his  mistress  had  sent 
him  on,  and  only  racing  in  the  street — it  was 
a  great  piece  of  folly,  was  it  not? 

"  And  yet,  this  Chokichi  is  not  to  be  heed- 
lessly laughed  at.  For  while  it  may  not  be 
true  of  this  audience,  yet  in  certain  distant 
parts  of  the  country  there  are  many  people 
who    forget    the    essential    thing,    just    as 

150 


it  ^ 


BUDDHIST    SERMONS 

Chokichi  did ;  whereas,  so  far  as  other  mat- 
ters are  concerned,  they  know  everything 
about  them.  If  you  don't  beUeve  it,  ask 
anybody. 

"Here,  Hachibei!  [The  preacher  ad- 
dresses an  imaginary  character.]  They  tell 
us  that  everything  born  into  this  world  has 
a  commission  from  heaven.  For  example, 
take  the  cow  and  the  horse, — what  were  they 
born  for?  And  Hachibei  will  answer, '  Why, 
anybody  knows  that!  They  were  born  to 
carry  heavy  loads  and  to  save  folks  labor.' 
But  the  cock,  what  was  he  born  for?  Ask 
him  that,  and  he  will  tell  you,  '  He  was  born 
to  tell  the  hours.'  The  dog,  what  was  he 
born  for?  'He  is  to  guard  the  gate.'  But 
the  cat,  what  is  she  for?  '  She  is  to  catch 
rats.'  Ask  anything  you  please,  so  far  as 
general  matters  are  concerned,  and  he  knows 
all  about  them.  Well,  then,  Hachibei,  you 
yourself,  what  were  you  born  into  this  world 
for?  But  Hachibei  will  scratch  his  head, 
and  finally  answer,  'What  was  I  born  for? 
I  don't  know.  Most  likely  I  came  just  to 
eat  rice  and  find  fault.'  For  us  to  think 
that  man  alone  came  into  this  world  to  wan- 
der purposeless,— that  is  for  us  to  belong  to 
the  foohsh  fellowship  of  Chokichi.  ...  It 

151 


JAPAX   TO-DAY 

is  man  alone  that  has  not  come  into  this 
world  just  to  eat  rice  and  to  grow  old.  JNIan 
is  called  the  lord  of  the  universe;  of  all 
things  he  is  chief.  He  is  not  like  the  dog 
or  the  cat.  It  is  not  for  him  to  wander  aim- 
lessly. 

"  But  let  us  go  on  with  our  story.  Chokichi 
reached  the  market-place  at  last,  but  he  had 
quite  forgotten  what  he  came  to  buy.  And 
so,  as  he  was  loafing  around  the  place  with 
the  money  in  his  hand,  he  caught  sight  of 
some  cakes  in  a  shop-window.  Forthwith 
he  bought  and  ate  about  a  dozen  of  them. 
Then  he  loitered  here  and  loitered  there ;  he 
drank  a  little  wine  and  loafed  in  the  grog- 
shop. He  spent  every  one  of  his  five  far- 
things buying  things  in  the  street  and  eat- 
ing them  on  the  spot.  And  then  he  went 
home  grumbling  to  himself: 

"  '  It  wasn't  enough !  Mistress  didn't  give 
me  coppers  enough !  And  so  I  can't  get  any 
fried  eels  or  duck-hash !' 

"  Now,  when  he  got  home,  maybe  his  mas- 
ter and  mistress  weren't  waiting  for  him! 
And  maybe  they  weren't  hot! 

Look  here,  Chokichi,  what  have  you 
been  doing?  Have  you  brought  what  you 
were  sent  for?' 

152 


BUDDHIST    SERMONS 

"When  they  said  this,  Chokichi  answered, 
in  a  dazed  sort  of  way: 

" '  No,  I  haven't  brought  anything  at  all.' 

"  '  But  what  have  you  done  with  the  money 
we  gave  you  ?' 

"  '  Oh,  the  money!'  said  he;  '  why,  I  spent 
it  all  for  things  to  eat  in  the  street ;  only  it 
wasn't  nearly  enough.' 

"Master  and  mistress  sat  completely 
dumb.    At  length  they  broke  out: 

"'Why,  what  are  you  thinking  about? 
The  five  farthings, — don't  you  understand? 
We  didn't  tell  you  to  spend  them  in  any  such 
way  as  that!  You  were  to  buy  carrots  and 
dock  and  the  rest!  But  instead  of  buying 
what  we  need,  you  spend  them  in  stuffing 
yourself,  and  then  on  top  of  that  you  tell  us 
that  you  haven't  enough!  You  must  be  a 
perfect  fool !' 

"  And  they  stormed  and  scolded  away. 

"  Now,  dunces  are  beyond  redemption. 

"'Why!'  said  Chokichi,  with  a  look  of 
utter  amazement,  '  do  you  want  some  carrots 
and  some  dock?  If  that  is  what  you  want, 
I've  just  been  to  the  market,  and  why  didn't 
you  tell  me  so?  That  would  have  been  the 
very  time  to  get  them.' 

"Well!   well!     He  was  an  accomplished 

153 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

dunce!  And  in  the  wide  world  one  could 
hardly  find  a  master  that  w^ould  keep  such  a 
fellow  for  five  minutes.  So  in  the  end  there 
was  nothing  to  do  but  send  him  away  with 
two  or  three  cuffs  across  the  head.  How- 
ever, it  is  quite  useless  for  any  of  you  to 
hear  a  story  of  this  kind  and  merely  roar 
over  it.  This  is  nothing  less  than  a  parable. 
And  with  the  words  of  Confucius  on  our 
lips,  *If  I  see  folly  I  look  within  myself,' 
to-day  both  you  and  I  should  well  consider 
whether  we  too  do  not  belong  to  the  company 
of  this  Chokichi. 

"In  the  first  place,  we  received  at  birth 
from  our  Master  Heaven  these  admirable 
bodies  that  we  call  the  five  members.  We 
were  provided  with  what  we  call  the  five 
senses,  far  more  precious  than  the  five  far- 
things,— the  five  functions  of  seeing,  hear- 
ing, smelling,  tasting,  and  feeling.  In  our 
hearts,  likewise,  we  received  at  birth  the  five 
virtues  of  love,  justice,  courtesy,  wisdom, 
and  truth.  And  the  real  meaning  is  simply 
this :  Heaven  desires  to  have  us  buy  what  we 
call  the  five  relations, — the  carrots  and  the 
dock,  which  are  these  five  things:  obedience 
to  parents,  loyalty  to  masters,  concord  be- 
tween husband  and  wafe,  harmony  among 

154 


BUDDHIST    SERMONS 

brothers,  and  a  mutual  fidelity  in  our  inter- 
course with  others.  And  yet,  quite  forget- 
ting the  essential  business  of  the  five  rules  or 
doctrines,  day  and  night  we  spend  our  time 
in  nothing  but  this  buying  and  eating  things 
in  the  street,  with  its  '  I  want  this — I  want 
that — that  will  not  do — or,  there  is  not 
enough  of  this!'  Why,  is  not  this  Chokichi? 
It  was  not  to  wander  about  thus  purposeless 
that  we  were  born." 


As  the  Buddhist  priest  goes  from  home 
to  home  in  the  administration  of  his  duties, 
or  as  the  people  drop  in  to  hear  him  preach, 
he  will  color  up  ancient  stories  in  such 
fashion  as  that  they  eventually  become  the 
very  folk-lore  of  the  people — the  mental 
pabulum  upon  which  children  are  fed  and 
youths  grow  into  manhood.  Two  of  these 
stories  that  I  have  never  seen  in  print  fell 
into  my  hands  when  the  students  were  re- 
quested to  write  English  essays  on  "Tales 
from  Japanese  Folk-Lore."  The  most  of 
these  tales  were  worn  and  wearisome,  but 
two  have  a  freshness  and  piquancy  that  en- 
title them  to  a  place  in  this  chapter ;  for  they 
are  nothing  else  than  "sermons  garnished 

155 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

with  smiles,"  as  the  reader  may  discover  for 
himself.  To  me  they  have  added  zest  because 
of  the  quaint  English  phrasing  of  the  really 
talented  young  essayists.  The  first  might 
be  fitly  entitled, — 

THE    TRAPPER    TRAPPED;     OR,    THE    AVAY    OF 
THE  TRANSGRESSOR  IS  HARD. 

"  In  olden  times  there  lived  a  farmer  who 
had  three  daughters,  in  a  little  village.  He 
possessed  a  few  acres  of  rice-field  which  he 
cultivated  diligently.  In  summer,  when  the 
rice  plants  began  to  bloom,  the  bright 
weather  continued  too  long.  Ditches  and 
streams  were  dried,  and  of  course  the  rice 
plants  were  on  the  point  of  being  parched 
with  drought.  The  poor  farmer,  earnestly 
desiring  to  revive  them,  tried  to  supply  with 
water,  but  all  in  vain. 

"  One  day,  he  at  last  advertised  that  to 
whomever  could  fill  the  field  up  with  water 
he  would  give  his  daughter  as  reward.  Next 
morning  he  visited  the  field  expecting  to  find 
the  plants  dying.  But  what  was  his  gladness 
when  he  came  to  it!  The  plants  were  very 
green  with  dew,  instead  of  yellow.  The  field 
was  full  of  water,  instead  of  being  dried. 
He  said  to  himself:  '  I  wonder  who  was  able 

156 


BUDDHIST   SERMONS 

to  do  this  ?  It  would  be  beyond  the  capacity 
of  human  beings.  Who  was  he?  How  for- 
tunate I  was  to  have  the  plants  brought  out 
of  withering!'  After  walking  around  the 
field  with  great  joy,  he  returned  home. 

"About  half  an  hour  after,  a  peculiar 
voice  was  heard  at  the  door.  The  delighted 
farmer,  suspecting,  went  to  the  door,  and 
when  he  opened  it,  he  found  a  wild,  hairy 
monkey  standing  there,  to  his  surprise.  The 
visitor  said,  'Last  night  I  filled  your  field 
with  water,  working  very  hard.  So  I  have 
come  to  receive  such  a  rew^ard  as  you  said 
in  the  advertisement.  Please  give  me  your 
daughter.'  He  turned  pale  when  he  thought 
of  putting  one  of  his  favorite  daughters  in 
the  hands  of  such  an  ugly  beast.  He  greatly 
regretted  that  he  had  acted  so  rashly.  But 
whoever  the  claimant  might  be,  he  never 
could  refuse  what  he  had  promised.  He  re- 
solved to  give,  and  called  to  his  presence  the 
eldest,  and  told  her  to  become  the  wife  of 
the  monkey.  Another  trouble  happened. 
She  denied  her  father's  request.  '  I  should 
rather,'  said  she,  '  die  than  become  a  beast's 
wife,'  and  ran  away.  Then  he  called  forth 
the  second,  and  tried  to  persuade  her,  in 
vain.    But  the  youngest  was  very  obedient  to 

157 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

parents,  and  easily  assented  to  her  father. 
'  It  is  an  easy  matter,'  said  she;  '  please  give 
me  a  mirror  and  a  jar.  I  like  to  have  such 
things.'  The  father  soon  gave  them,  partly 
with  easiness,  and  partly  with  the  sorrow  of 
parting.  The  jar  fastened  to  the  monkey's 
back  by  encircling  him  with  a  cord,  and  the 
mirror  held  in  the  girl's  hand,  the  strange 
couple  hastened  to  the  forest. 

"Oh,  what  an  unhappy  creature!  Was 
she  to  live  her  unpleasant  life  in  a  dark  cave 
or  on  a  high  tree,  one  time  met  by  a  wolf, 
and  the  other  by  a  large  serpent,  instead  of 
having  visits  from  her  dear  friends  from 
her  old  agreeable  home?  No;  heaven  w^ould 
never  desert  so  obedient  a  daughter.  About 
a  mile's  walking  brought  them  to  a  bridge 
across  a  deep  river.  While  looking  on  the 
river,  the  poor  girl  dropped  her  mirror  into 
the  water  on  purpose,  but  as  if  by  mistake. 
She  showed  a  sign  of  great  alarm,  and  cried 
out :  '  Oh,  I  have  lost  in  the  water  my 
favorite  mirror!  Nobody  will  help  me!  I 
should  prefer  to  drown  to  living  without  a 
mirror.'  Pretending  to  weep,  she  lay  down 
on  the  ground.  *  No,'  said  the  monkey,  fear- 
ing to  lose  his  lover,  *  no ;  you  need  not  cry 
for  it.    I  shall  be  able  to  find  the  mirror  out 

158 


BUDDHIST    SERMONS 

and  to  place  it  in  your  hands.  Wait  a  little.' 
In  an  instant,  he  jumped  into  the  water,  nay, 
into  Hades,  because  the  water  poured  into 
the  jar  on  his  back,  and  he  was  drowned 
after  struggling  with  the  waves  for  a  min- 
ute. The  young  widow  walked  home  in 
triumph,  and  spent  her  happy  days  with  her 
father  and  sisters." 


I  shall  not  moralize  on  the  content  of  these 
ethical  discourses.  The  reader  who  is  so  dis- 
posed may  do  that  for  himself ;  for  they  are 
in  truth  extremely  suggestive  indexes  to  the 
ethical  ideals  of  a  race.  The  selection  that 
follows  will  show  that  sometimes  a  heathen 
may  even  quote  Scripture  to  suit  his  pur- 
poses.   I  shall  accordingly  entitle  it, — 

CAN   THE   BLIND   LEAD   THE    BLIND? 

"  Once  upon  a  time  there  were  two  men, 
one  of  them  named  Hachibei,  and  the  other 
Gonsuke.    They  were  very  strange. 

"  Once  these  two  men  were  travelling 
from  Kyoto  to  Yedo.  Then  when  they 
reached  the  river  Tenryu,  it  seemed  that  the 
bridge  had  been  washed  away  by  the  heavy 
storm  of  the  day  before.    So  passengers  that 

159 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

came  to  this  river  were  tucking  up  their 
trousers  to  cross  the  river. 

"  When  Hachibei  and  Gonsuke  were  in- 
tending to  do  so,  two  bhnd  men  came,  and 
one  of  them,  named  Ittuku,  asked  them 
whether  it  was  possible  to  cross  the  river. 
Hanku,  the  other  of  the  bhnd  men,  asked, 
*  Is  the  water  as  high  as  your  knees?'  Hachi- 
bei rephed,  'Yes.'  Then  Ittuku  said  to 
Hanku,  '  As  you  are  younger  than  I,  please 
carry  me  across.'  '  Foolish  fellow,'  said  the 
other,  '  what  a  cheeky  fellow  you  are !' 

"At  last  they  drew  lots,  and  the  old  It- 
tuku won.  Then  Hanku  was  obliged  to 
carry  the  other.  '  Now,  are  you  ready  ? 
Come  on!  Come  on!'  So  saying,  he  got 
ready,  and  turned  his  back  to  Ittuku. 

"  But  Hachibei  seized  this  opportunity, 
and  jumped  on  his  back.  Hanku,  the  young 
blind  man,  thinking  him  to  be  his  friend 
Ittuku,  immediately  entered  into  the  river, 
and  carried  Hachibei  to  the  other  side. 

"'Oi!  Oi!'  said  the  old  blind  man,  Avho 
was  remaining  on  the  other  side ;  '  what  are 
you  doing?'  Hanku,  on  the  other  bank, 
hearing  his  voice,  said  with  anger :  '  What  a 
cheeky  fellow  you  are!  I  have  just  carried 
you  across,  so  why  did  you  go  back  again?' 

IGO 


BUDDHIST   SERMONS 

*'  Ittuku  said,  '  You  must  not  speak  like 
that  to  your  elder;  come  quickly  and  carry 
me  over.' 

"  At  last  Hanku  was  obliged  to  cross  back 
again.  '  Now,'  said  Hanku,  offering  his 
back,  'you  may  jump  on.'  But  Gonsuke, 
without  hesitation,  put  out  his  arms  and 
jumped  on  his  back.  As  Hanku  entered  the 
river  again,  Ittuku,  in  breathless  excitement, 
called  out,  '  Where  are  you?' 

"  Hanku,  who  was  now  in  the  middle  of 
the  stream,  exclaimed,  '  Oh,  this  sly  fellow ! 
Who  is  this?'  and  let  Gonsuke  fall  into  the 
river  with  a  splash. 

"'Help  me!  help  me!'  cried  Gonsuke. 
Hachibei  then  jumped  in  and  pulled  him  out 
of  the  water.  And  he  was  wet  through. 
^ A-a-a-ah-ktiSo!'  said  Gonsuke;  'that  blind 
rascal  has  done  me  a  shabby  trick.'  '  Wal 
Ha!  Hal'  laughed  Hachibei. 

"At  this  Gonsuke  said,  'As  you  set  the 
example,  I  fell  into  the  water.  How  cold 
it  is !' 

"So  saying,  he  proceeded  to  wring  out  his 
clothes.  Then  the  blind  men  came  across  the 
river.    At  last  Gonsuke  got  a  cold. 

Do  men  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs 
of  thistles?    Even  so  every  good  tree  bring- 

11  161 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

eth  forth  good  fruit;  but  a  corrupt  tree 
bringeth  forth  evil  fruit.  Every  tree  that 
bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down, 
and  cast  into  the  foe.' 


J  5) 


These  "sermons  garnished  with  smiles" 
must  inevitably  produce  the  impression  that 
the  Japanese  are  frivolous.  This  impression 
is  essentially  correct.  That  is  to  say,  they 
are  the  gayest  and  most  irrepressibly  mirth- 
ful folk  in  all  the  world.  They  live  on  the 
crust  of  molten  volcanic  fires,  they  tremble 
almost  daily  with  the  terrible  chill  of  the 
earthquake,  and  they  are  used  to  the  thun- 
derous blast  of  the  tempest, — but  in  it  all 
they  are  the  same  cheerful,  happy-hearted, 
and  pleasure-loving  people.  They  will  treat 
a  funeral  as  though  it  were  a  feast,  and  even 
their  sermons  are  garnished  with  smiles. 
But  the  broadest  of  these  homiletic  smiles  I 
have  kept  for  the  last.  It  is  told  in  one  of 
their  most  familiar  books  of  moral  lectures, 
and  the  reader  may  discern  its  "  moral"  for 
himself.  Possibly  it  will  not  have  great  zest 
for  those  who  are  unfamiliar  with  Japanese 
ways  and  customs.  But  to  me,  ''  sermon" 
though  it  be,  it  is  far  and  away  the  finest 

163 


> 


r. 
W 

s: 

•-1 


BUDDHIST    SERMONS 

specimen  of  quaint  Oriental  humor  that  ever 
came  under  my  ken.  Perhaps  it  might  be 
called, — 

CIRCUMSTANCES  ALTER  CASES',   OR,  THE  FOLLY 

OF  THE  APE. 

Once  upon  a  time, — so  runs  the  story, 
which  I  quote  from  memory, — a  certain  bald 
retainer  called  upon  his  lord  and  master,  to 
have  a  long  talk  about  various  matters  per- 
taining to  the  management  of  the  large 
estate.  It  was  winter,  and  when  the  noble 
lord  came  in,  he  saw  to  it  that  a  liberal  sup- 
ply of  glowing  charcoal  embers  sent  forth 
their  grateful  heat  from  a  brazier  set  be- 
tween them  on  the  floor.  Thus  they  sat  flat 
upon  the  mats  and  talked,  the  retainer  now 
and  then  uttering  exclamations  of  astonish- 
ment at  the  wisdom  of  his  sage  employer, 
who  was  known  far  and  wide  for  his  sound 
sense  and  unfailing  presence  of  mind.  The 
while  they  talked,  this  latter  quality  received 
fresh  and  convincing  illustration.  For  the 
charcoal,  snappy  and  saucy  in  the  frosty  air, 
suddenly  sent  a  glowing  ember  leaping  into 
the  very  lap  of  the  stately  lord,  full  upon  his 
handsome  apron  of  brocaded  silk.  The  bald 
retainer  flew  all  to  pieces  in  his  helpless 

163 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

anxiety  to  relieve  the  situation — gazing 
wildly  around  for  some  implement  to  re- 
move the  red-hot  coal,  and  sputtering  like 
a  sperm-whale  in  his  excitement.  But  mean- 
while, the  master,  with  a  calm  remark  to  the 
effect  that  it  was  of  no  consequence  what- 
ever, had  quietly  inserted  his  hand  beneath  his 
silken  apron,  and,  with  the  skilful  "  chuck" 
of  a  boy  playing  marbles,  had  shot  the  saucy 
fire-ball  back  into  its  proper  place  before  it 
had  even  scorched  the  precious  silk.  When 
the  excited  retainer  at  length  comprehended 
what  had  happened,  he  sat  back  upon  his 
haunches  speechless  with  admiration,  unable 
to  do  anything  but  utter  an  occasional ''  Na- 
ruhodor  of  rapt  amazement  over  such  mar- 
vellous presence  of  mind.  He  had  learned  a 
lesson, — ever  hereafter  w^ould  he  strive  to 
emulate  the  matchless  wisdom  of  his  lord. 
Meanwhile,  the  lord  sat  talking  as  though 
nothing  had  happened,  to  his  faithful,  if 
somewhat  abstracted,  servitor,  whose 
thoughts  were  now  fixed  on  loftier  themes 
than  tenantry  and  rents.  Would  that  he 
might  have  opportunity  to  imitate  the  wis- 
dom of  his  master!  As  luck  would  have  it, 
the  opportunity  was  not  long  delayed.  For 
the  malicious  charcoal  once  more  vented  its 

164 


BUDDHIST   SERMONS 

fiery  spleen,  a  living  coal  leaping  this  time 
straight  for  the  flat  bald  head  of  the  re- 
tainer, where  it  lay  and  glowed  with  wrath. 
It  was  now  the  master's  turn  to  become  ex- 
cited. He  looked  from  side  to  side  for  some 
implement  of  relief;  he  clapped  his  hands 
wildly  to  summon  the  maid, — and  exclaimed : 

"Why,  man,  that  coal  will  burn  straight 
through  into  your  stupid  brain!" 

But  the  retainer  sat  perfectly  cool  and 
collected,  an  expression  of  calm  and  elevated 
superiority  upon  his  suffering  brow. 

"Never  mind,"  he  murmured;  "it  is  of 
no  consequence  whatever," — and,  mindful 
of  his  lord's  example,  reached  up  and 
chucked  himself  under  the  chin ! 


The  three  great  pagan  systems  that  have 
directed  the  spiritual  development  of  the 
Japanese  are  Shinto,  Buddhism,  and  Confu- 
cianism. The  first  of  these,  or  "  The  Way  of 
the  Gods,"  is  native  to  Japan;  the  other  two 
coming  from  India  and  China,  respectively. 
Esthetics  and  fihal  piety  are  the  foundation- 
stones  of  Shinto.  Morality,  as  we  understand 
the  term,  has  nothing  to  do  with  Shinto  as 
unaffected   by   contact   with    Christendom. 

165 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

Native  writers,  indeed,  have  denied  that  the 
Japanese  stand  in  need  of  any  moral  instruc- 
tion. One  of  the  greatest  disciples  of  Shinto 
is  on  record  as  saying  that  "  in  Japan  there  is 
no  necessity  for  any  system  of  morals,  as 
every  Japanese  acts  aright  if  he  only  con- 
sults his  own  heart.  Morals  were  invented 
by  the  Chinese  because  they  were  an  immoral 
people."  Filial  piety  is  the  great,  the  sole 
commandment  of  the  law.  It  should  continue 
even  after  the  death  of  its  object.  Hence 
the  origin  of  Shinto,  which  is  chiefly  ancestor 
worship.  But  the  aesthetic  tastes  of  the  peo- 
ple prompt  them  to  the  poetical  expression 
of  this  worship.  Therefore  the  chosen  sacred 
places  are  spots  of  great  natural  beauty, — 
nature  building  more  noble  monuments  than 
man.  As  has  been  already  said,  every 
wooded  dell  and  silvery  cascade,  each  limpid 
lake  and  lofty  hill,  is  consecrated  by  a  shrine 
to  the  memory  of  the  reverend  dead.  Far 
from  morality  inhering  in  the  Japanese  con- 
ception of  religion,  phallicism  was  until  re- 
cently an  integral  part  of  Shinto. 

Buddhism  was  imported  by  way  of  Korea 
about  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  of  the 
Christian  era.  With  their  customary  intel- 
lectual hospitahty,  the  Japanese  accepted  it 

166 


BUDDHIST    SERMONS 

with  open  arms.  And  with  remarkable  plas- 
ticity Buddhism  moulded  itself  towards  the 
encompassment  of  Shint5,  so  that  now  the 
two  cults  are  often  inextricably  interwoven, 
though  the  Shinto  share  of  the  woof  is 
sometimes  exceedingly  small.  In  the  seven- 
teenth century  Shinto  made  an  effort  to  re- 
cover its  independence;  and  even  now,  for 
obvious  political  purposes  (since  it  teaches 
the  divinity  of  royalty),  it  is  the  recognized 
religion  of  the  state.  But  Buddhism,  the 
gorgeous  rehgion  of  India,  is  enormously 
more  attractive  of  devotion  than  the  childish 
Shinto,  and  wields  even  now  a  powerful 
sway  over  the  ignorant  masses.  Its  enor- 
mous educational  influence  in  the  past  was 
pointed  out  in  the  opening  chapter. 

Buddhism  is  a  singularly  inconsistent  sys- 
tem. It  deifies  the  forces  of  nature  into 
innumerable  gods,  but  does  not  teach  the 
doctrine  of  a  personal  god ;  it  is,  in  fact,  athe- 
istic. It  believes  in  the  perpetuation  of 
existence  through  innumerable  and  ever- 
varying  forms,  but  teaches  that  our  highest 
goal  is  non-existence.  It  derives  its  greatest 
strength  from  the  immortal  personality  of 
its  illustrious  founder,  Sakya  Muni,  but 
minimizes  the  idea  of  personality  in  our- 

167 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

selves.  Its  motto  is  knowledge,  but  its  Jap- 
anese devotees  are  confined  to  the  ignorant 
multitudes.  While  deifying  moral  ideas,  its 
priesthood  is  so  grossly  immoral  that  the 
Japanese  government  found  it  necessary 
not  long  ago  to  issue  an  open  reprimand 
against  them.  The  essential  content  of  the 
average  Buddhist  sermon  is  exemplified  by 
the  tyj)ical  discourses  already  presented. 
And  even  when  the  priest  does  allow  himself 
to  dwell  upon  the  solemn  themes  in  which  his 
religion  abounds,  he  will  conclude  his  exhor- 
tation with  a  ludicrous  grimace,  as  though  he 
regarded  the  whole  performance  as  a  joke. 
Sermons  are  preached  in  the  larger  city  tem- 
23les  on  an  average  of  once  in  ten  days,  and 
are  poorly  attended  when  judged  by  our 
own  ideas. 

But  the  people  are  still  very  devoted  in 
the  matter  of  temple  w^orship  proper.  And 
many  of  the  w^orshippers  are  more  than  mere 
ceremonialists ;  they  are  evidently  very  much 
in  earnest.  "See  that  mother  leading  her 
toddling  child  to  the  image  of  Binzuru,  the 
god  of  healing,  and  teaching  it  to  rub  the 
eyes  and  face  of  the  god  and  then  its  own 
eyes  and  face.  See  that  pilgrim  before  a 
bare  shrine  repeating  in  raj)t  devotion  the 

168 


5' 


•-3 


C 


c  «  • 

.c 


BUDDHIST    SERMONS 

prayer  he  has  known  from  his  childhood,  and 
in  virtue  of  which  he  has  ah'eady  received 
numberless  blessings.  Behold  that  leper 
pleading  with  merciful  Kwannon  of  the 
Thousand  Hands  to  heal  his  disease.  Hear 
that  pitiful  wail  of  a  score  of  fox-possessed 
victims  for  deliverance  from  their  oppressor. 
Watch  that  tearful  maiden  performing  the 
hundred  circuits  of  the  temple  while  she 
prays  for  a  specific  blessing  for  herself  or 
some  loved  one.  Observe  that  merchant 
solemnly  w^orshipping  the  god  of  the  sea, 
with  offering  of  rice  and  w^ine.  Count  those 
hundreds  of  votive  pictures,  thanksgiving 
remembrances  of  the  sick  w^ho  have  been 
healed,  in  answer,  as  they  firmly  believe,  to 
their  prayers  to  the  god  of  this  particular 
shrine."  These  are  all  actual  cases.  And 
Mr.  Gulick  points  out,  in  his  "Evolution  of 
the  Japanese,"  that  they  are  the  evidence  of 
a  profound  religious  instinct,  w^hich  persists 
in  spite  of  all  the  abuses  of  religion. 

Confucianism  is  not  a  religion  at  all.  It 
is  a  cold  and  heartless  system  of  ethics. 
Coming  to  Japan  at  an  early  date  from 
China,  it  long  remained  useless  and  dormant. 
But  through  the  influence  of  the  great  Em- 
peror lyeyasu  it  began  to  displace  Bud- 

169 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

dhism  as  the  national  preceptor  early  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  has  until  very  re- 
cently commanded  at  least  the  nominal  alle- 
giance of  the  more  intelligent  classes  of  the 
Japanese.  But  the  most  recent  reports  are 
to  the  effect  that  "  Confucian  philosophy, 
sociology,  and  statecraft  have  had  a  great 
fall  from  their  former  high  place.  Confucius 
is  a  deserted  leader,  inconsj^icuous  among 
the  many  heroes  whom  Japan  has  crowned. 
Even  Seido,  the  historic  temple  of  Confu- 
cius in  Tokyo,  has  been  appropriated  for  an 
educational  museum.  The  old  religions  ex- 
ercise no  moral  power  over  the  student  class 
of  Japan,  and  religious  teaching  is  not  al- 
lowed in  the  curricula  of  the  new  govern- 
ment institutions."  Japan  presents  the 
strange  spectacle  of  a  people  with  a  deep 
religious  instinct  who  are  rapidly  losing  hold 
of  their  old  religious  systems  and  have  not 
as  yet  firmly  grasped  the  new. 

But  one  of  the  most  significant  signs  of 
the  trend  of  things  is  in  the  fact  that  Chris- 
tianity is  beginning  to  influence  and  trans- 
form the  pagan  religions  themselves.  We 
are  told  on  every  hand  that  a  new  spirit  is 
abroad,  for  example,  among  the  Buddhistic 
priesthood.      "  Their   preaching  is   increas- 

170 


BUDDHIST    SERMONS 

ingly  ethical.  The  common  people  are  say- 
inff  that  the  sermons  heard  in  certain  tem- 
pies  are  identical  with  those  of  Christians." 
And  Buddhism  is  not  the  only  imitator. 
Missionaries  who  have  attended  the  services 
of  the  most  modern  forms  of  Shinto  have 
been  surprised  to  hear  almost  literal  quota- 
tions from  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  al- 
though the  speaker  was  unconscious  of  the 
source.  Mr.  Gulick  adds:  "It  is  evident 
that  Christianity  is  having  an  influence  in 
Japan  far  beyond  the  ranks  of  its  professed 
believers.  It  is  proving  a  stimulus  to  the 
older  faiths,  stirring  them  up  to  an  earnest- 
ness in  moral  teaching  that  they  never  knew 
in  the  olden  times.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  this  wide-spread  emphasis  on  ethical 
truth  comes  at  a  time  when  morality  is  suf- 
fering a  wide  collapse." 

Meanwhile,  the  little  sacred  "Bible"  of 
the  Japanese  people  continues  to  be  the 
famous  "Imperial  Rescript  on  Morals  in 
Education,"  promulgated  by  the  present 
ruler,  Mutsuhito,  in  the  year  1890.  It  is  sup- 
posed to  embody  the  quintessence  of  Shinto 
and  Confucianism  combined,  and  is  the  only 
authoritative  moral  teaching  allowed  in  the 
government  schools.    "  It  is  considered  both 

171 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

holy  and  inspired."  Here  follows  a  trans- 
lation of  this  very  remarkable  document,  to 
which  four  and  a  quarter  million  of  Japanese 
students  listen  at  stated  intervals  with  heads 
bowed  in  reverent  awe, — the  only  authorita- 
tive moral  guide  recognized  by  Japan  to- 
day: 

"  The  Founder  of  Our  Empire  and  the 
Ancestors  of  Our  Imperial  House  placed 
the  foundations  of  the  country  on  a  grand 
and  everlasting  basis,  and  established  their 
authority  on  the  principles  of  profound 
humanitv  and  benevolence. 

"  That  our  subjects  have  throughout  the 
ages  deserved  well  of  the  state  by  their 
loyalty  and  piety,  and  by  their  harmonious 
co-operation,  is  in  accordance  with  the  essen- 
tial character  of  our  country;  and  on  these 
very  same  principles  our  education  has  been 
founded. 

"You,  our  subjects,  be  therefore  filial 
to  your  parents;  be  affectionate  to  your 
brothers;  be  harmonious  as  husbands  and 
wives,  and  faithful  to  your  friends ;  conduct 
yourselves  with  propriety  and  carefulness; 
extend  generosity  and  benevolence  tow^ards 
your  neighbors;  attend  to  your  studies  and 
practice  your  respective  callings;    cultivate 

172 


BUDDHIST    SERMONS 

your  intellects  and  elevate  your  morals;  ad- 
vance public  benefits  and  promote  the  social 
welfare;  ever  render  strict  obedience  to  the 
constitution  and  to  all  the  laws  of  the  land; 
display  your  personal  courage  and  public 
spirit  for  the  sake  of  the  country  whenever 
required;  and  thus  support  the  Imperial 
prerogative,  which  is  coeval  with  the 
Heavens  and  the  Earth. 

"  Such  behavior  on  your  part  will  not  only 
strengthen  the  character  of  our  good  and 
loyal  subjects,  but  will  also  conduce  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  fame  of  your  worthy 
ancestors. 

"  This  is  the  instruction  bequeathed  by 
our  ancestors  and  to  be  followed  by  our  sub- 
jects; for  it  is  the  truth  which  has  guided 
and  still  guides  them  in  their  own  affairs  and 
in  their  dealings  towards  aliens. 

"We  trust,  therefore,  that  we  and  our 
subjects  shall  regard  these  sacred  precepts 
with  one  and  the  same  heart  in  order  to  at- 
tain the  same  ends. 

"  Given  at  Our  Palace  in  Tokyo  this  30th 
day  of  the  10th  month  of  the  23d  year  of 
Meiji  (1890)." 


173 


VII 

LIFE   IN   THE  SOUTH 


^  The  Island  of  Kyushu— A 
Calm  Succeeded  by  a  Storm — 
The  Land  of  the  Unknown  Fire 
— A  Sketch  of  Saga — Life  in 
a  Japanese  School — Side-Lights 
on  **  Demoniacal  Possession" 


VII 

Life  in  the  South 

During  four  out  of  the  five  years  that  I 
spent  in  the  Island  Empire  my  address  was 
"Saga,  Hizen,  Kyushu."  In  the  original 
meaning  of  those  three  simple  words  you 
have  a  history  which  is  also  a  story,  and  a 
story  of  the  most  interesting  sort,  telhng  the 
truth  that  is  stranger  than  fiction. 

Let  us  begin  backwards,  Japanese  fashion, 
and  analyze  "Kyushu"  first — a  name  that 
has  become  somewhat  familiar  here,  because 
of  the  excellence  of  Kyushu  rice.  Its  literal 
meaning  is  "  nine  provinces," — whereby 
hangs  a  tale.  Japan  consists  of  an  indefinite 
number  of  small  islands  (some  four  thou- 
sand bv  actual  count) ,  and  the  definite  num- 
her  of  four  larger  ones.  These  four  main- 
lands, of  which  Hondo  is  chief  and  central, 
stretch  in  the  form  of  a  narrow  crescent,  a 
thousand  miles  from  north  to  south.  The 
northernmost  is  icy  Yezo,  where  the  aborigi- 
nal Ainu  fives.  Shikoku  hes  just  south  of 
Hondo,  ^vhile  Kyushu  stretches  still  farther 

12  1T7 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

towards  the  equator,  lying  in  the  latitude  of 
the  State  of  South  Carolina.  These  four 
mainlands  were  in  ancient  times,  for  pur- 
poses of  government,  divided  into  eighty- 
four  large  provinces,  nine  of  the  largest  of 
which  constituted  the  "nine  provinces"  of 
Kyushu. 

This  large  southern  island  has  had  full 
share  in  the  shaping  of  the  history  of  the 
nation.  From  these  coasts,  several  centuries 
before  the  Christian  era,  Jimmu  Tenno,  the 
first  Japanese  emperor,  is  alleged  to  have  set 
forth  on  his  career  of  adventurous  conquest. 
Hence  also  the  great  expeditions  of  the  Jap- 
anese Amazon,  Jingo  Kog5,  and  of  the  illus- 
trious "  Taiko,"  Hideyoshi,  went  forth  to 
successful  warfare  in  times  of  old  against 
the  neighboring  country  of  Korea.  It  was 
on  the  soil  of  Kyushu  that  the  first  Euro- 
pean missionary  landed,  in  the  year  1549, 
and  from  that  day  onwards,  even  during 
that  period  of  three  hundred  years  of  ere- 
mite seclusion  that  succeeded  the  anti- Chris- 
tian revolt  in  1587,  Kyushu  it  was,  alone 
of  all  Japan,  that  kept  in  some  slight  touch 
with  the  Western  world.  Finally,  the  bat- 
tle of  Shimonoseki  Straits,  in  1864,  con- 
firmed Commodore  Perry's  opening  of  all 

178 


IN   THE    SOUTH 

Japan  to  the  comity  and  the  commerce  of 
the  nations;  and  it  was  in  the  very  town  of 
Saga,  in  a  most  romantic  manner  to  be  here- 
inafter recorded,  that  the  first  fruits  of 
Protestant  missionary  effort  blossomed  from 
the  seed  of  God's  Word. 

It  was  on  the  last  day  of  the  year  that  I 
fought  my  own  personal  battle  with  the 
waves  of  Shimonoseki  Straits,  and  con- 
quered the  gates  of  Kyushu.  Our  voyage 
from  Yokohama  to  Kobe  had  been  exceed- 
ingly stormy,  our  trim  little  Japanese 
steamer  tossing  like  a  man  with  the  fever 
and  quivering  throughout  her  whole  frame 
like  a  man  in  the  grip  of  the  ague.  Five 
hundred  native  fishermen  lost  their  lives  off 
the  coasts  near  us  that  night. 

From  Kobe  to  Shimonoseki  the  weather 
was  fair,  and  we  viewed  with  delight  the 
beauties  of  the  Inland  Sea.  Many  experi- 
enced travellers  deem  this  the  most  enchant- 
ing bit  of  sailing  in  the  world.  The  water 
lies  placid  as  a  pool,  save  only  where  dis- 
turbed by  the  turbulence  of  mysterious 
whirlpools,  which  will  sometimes  seize  a  great 
ship  and  spin  her  around  like  a  top.  Jutting 
from  the  land-locked  ocean  rise  countless 
little  verdant  isles,   carved  into  grotesque 

179 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

shapes,  among  which  the  ship  picks  her  way 
with  the  dainty  skill  of  a  woman.  Often  we 
seem  completely  encircled  by  land,  our  en- 
trance shut  fast  behind  us,  and  no  exit  visible 
in  front.  Then,  with  arch  sidewise  motion, 
the  vessel  glides  through  a  hitherto  hidden 
gateway  and  begins  once  more  to  thread  the 
maze  of  evergreen  islands.  Toy  houses 
stand  on  the  shining  beachlets.  Toy 
islanders  run  to  and  fro.  Tiny  sails  glisten 
like  bird-wings  flitting  through  watery 
groves.  Overhead,  marvellous  turquoise 
skies  arch  a  roof  for  this  veritable  fairy- 
land, this  miraculous  garden  of  the  sea. 

But  when  we  reached  Shimonoseki  the 
storm  returned  with  redoubled  violence. 
There  were  no  other  passengers  to  disem- 
bark, and  for  a  long  time  I  failed  in  securing 
a  boat  that  would  land  me  in  the  storm. 
Finally  a  good-sized  scow  that  had  brought 
coal  out  to  our  steamer,  and  w^as  lashed  to 
her  side  safe  and  sound,  undertook  the  task 
for  a  consideration.  I  clung  to  the  single 
mast,  with  its  sail  reefed  tight  to  its  sides. 
The  weaves  tossed  us  like  a  fleck  of  foam, 
yet  I  did  not  think  we  were  in  very  great 
danger  until  within  a  few  hundred  feet  of 
the  shore.    A  wall  of  solid  masonry  is  built 

180 


IN   THE    SOUTH 

up  there,  to  protect  the  land  from  the  en- 
croachments of  the  sea.  Our  fishermen  crew 
had  to  beat  around  this  wall  with  their  sturdy- 
oars  in  order  to  reach  an  inlet  of  safety. 
But  just  at  the  critical  point,  the  sail  ripped 
suddenly  loose,  the  men  lost  control  of  the 
boat,  and  the  furious  wind  dashed  us  with  a 
fearful  shock  and  crash,  sheer  against  the 
frowning  stone  wall.  Once  again,  and  yet 
once  more  this  happened,  the  side  of  our 
boat  being  shattered  in  splinters,  and  the 
water  submerging  us  fast.  All  of  this  took 
but  an  instant.  But  at  the  third  crash  oc- 
curred a  feat  I  have  never  in  my  life  seen 
equalled,  nor,  under  the  circumstances,  have 
I  any  strong  desire  to  look  on  the  like  again. 
Just  at  the  one  possible  instant,  before  the 
boat  crashed  the  third  time  against  the  wall, 
a  little  nimble  lad  shot  up  the  mast  like  a 
monkey,  a  long  rope  around  his  thighs,  and 
leaped  through  the  air  to  the  shore!  A  hun- 
dred eager  hands  of  shouting,  gesticulating 
natives  seized  the  shore  end  of  the  rope, 
pulled  us  instantly  taut  and  snug,  and  gently 
hauled  our  battered  craft  around  the  mole 
to  its  haven.  It  was  the  one  chance  in  a 
million.  The  next  crash  would  certainly 
have  crushed  our  foothold  from  under  us, 

181 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

and  flung  us  to  the  merciless  sea.  A  dozen 
fishermen  and  I  owe  our  hves  this  day  to 
the  daring  skill  of  a  little  unknown  lad.  It 
was  a  feat  w^hich  any  who  have  w^atched 
Japanese  acrobats  can  believe  in;  but,  I 
verily  believe,  possible  only  to  these  nimble, 
sure-eyed  people. 

New- Year's  morning  dawned  bright  and 
clear,  the  town  alive  with  the  festival.  At 
dawn  I  made  my  way  briskly  to  the  train, 
the  air  being  bracingly  cold.  All  who  were 
early  astir  wished  me  a  happy  new-year.  An 
old  man  I  had  never  seen  before  grasped  my 
left  hand  with  his  right,  thinking  this  the 
proper  thing  to  do  with  a  foreigner,  waved 
my  digits  from  left  to  right  a  few  times,  and 
wished  me  a  most  honorable  congratulation. 
He  happened  to  be  a  railway  porter,  so  I 
asked  him  whether  he  couldn't  bring  me  a 
tin  heater  for  my  feet,  as  there  w^as  nothing 
of  the  sort  in  the  car,  and  all  of  the  Japanese 
trains  are  supposed  to  carry  them.  He  re- 
plied voluminously,  kept  the  train  waiting 
several  minutes,  and  finally  returned  with  a 
pair  of  tin  spittoons.  He  had  apparently 
imbibed  rather  freely  of  some  primitive  new- 
year's  beverage. 

So  it  was  that  I  journeyd  to  Saga.     A 


> 

r. 
o 


IN   THE    SOUTH 

light  fall  of  snow  lay  on  the  ribbed  rice-field 
outside,  so  that  they  looked  like  great  grid- 
dle-cakes with  a  frugal  sprinkhng  of  sugar. 
Snow  in  the  province  of  Hizen,  despite  the 
fact  that  the  name  means  "  fii'e"-land! 

But  this  warm  name  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  climate.  The  reason  for  this  name 
is  bound  up  with  the  strangest  thing  I  saw 
in  this  strange  land.  Hizen  is  called  "  fire"- 
land  because  it  borders  on  the  sea  of  the 
"  unknown  fire."  On  a  certain  night  in  every 
year,  at  one  specific  hour,  one  may  see  from 
the  summit  of  a  sacred  hill  a  great  ball  of 
fire  rise  out  of  the  sea  a  few  hundred  yards 
from  land,  break  into  a  million  dancing 
sparks ;  then  reassemble  its  fiery  forces  from 
the  shimmering  dancing-floor,  and  majesti- 
cally fade  into  the  night  whence  it  came.  If 
you  get  into  a  boat  and  row  out  into  the  sea, 
nothing  is  visible.  Scientists,  both  native  and 
foreign,  have  made  the  matter  a  subject  for 
investigation,  without  result.  The  phenome- 
non has  recurred  for  ages,  hence  the  names 
of  the  two  bordering  provinces,  Hizen  and 
Higo— the  "nearer"  and  the  "farther"  pro- 
vinces of  the  "unknown  fire."  Mine  own 
eyes  have  seen  it,  the  while  my  skin  was 
creeping. 

183 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

Having  dissected  the  words  "  Kyushu'* 
and  "  Hizen,"  finally  we  come  to  Saga  itself. 

More  than  four  hundred  years  ago,  while 
Japan  was  steeped  in  the  petty  wars  of 
feudalism,  there  grew  in  a  wide  and  fertile 
plain  a  number  of  gigantic,  flourishing  trees. 
Their  wealth  of  growth  and  beauty  was  so 
great  that  the  people  round  about  called 
them  Sahiira,  a  word  formerly  used  to  de- 
note prosperity.  The  transition  is  easy. 
When,  finally,  a  prosperous  city  had  en- 
circled the  stately  trees,  its  busy  citzens 
found  Saga  easier  to  say  than  Sakura,  and 
said  it, — just  as  our  lazy  English  speech  has 
slipped  eventually  all  the  w^ay  from  epis- 
copos  to  "  bishop." 

To  write  the  history  of  Kyushu  would 
almost  fill  a  librarv,  that  of  Hizen  would 
more  than  make  a  book,  and  I  may  hope  to 
give  only  the  briefest  sketch  of  Saga  in  this 
short  chapter.  But,  such  as  it  is,  I  write  it 
on  account  of  its  interest  as  a  picture  of 
feudal  Japan. 

As  the  3^oung  historian  would  say,  go  back 
with  me  four  centuries,  and  find  a  country 
governed  by  a  nominal  Mikado  and  power- 
ful clans  of  warriors,  the  latter  constantly  at 
war  among  themselves.    One  of  the  hardier 

184 


IN   THE    SOUTH 

leaders,  Suseyoshi  by  name,  built  for  him- 
self a  great  castle  at  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  he  built  it  where  the 
lordly  trees  were  growing.  The  growth  of 
his  house  was  as  that  of  the  trees,  so  that,  in 
1562,  his  grandson  Takanobu  united  various 
small  dominions  under  one  government,  and 
caused  this  capital  of  Saga  to  become  a  very 
rich  and  busy  place,  deserving  of  its  name. 
The  castle  was  extended;  gigantic  walls  of 
huge  stone  masonry  were  built  around  it, 
many  of  them  remaining  to  this  day.  Hum- 
ble hovels  were  converted  into  magnificent 
mansions,  and  small  shops  became  big  ba- 
zaars. Strengthened  in  his  power  and  glory, 
Takanobu  went  forth  again  to  war,  and 
conquered  the  neighboring  provinces  of  Chi- 
kuzen,  Chikugo,  and  Bungo,  with  half  of 
Higo.  The  greater  part  of  Kyushu  would 
doubtless  have  come  under  his  sway  had  he 
not  fallen  in  the  bloody  battle  of  Shimabara, 
in  the  year  1584. 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Masaie,  who 
inherited  the  warlike  spirit  of  his  father. 
But  a  greater  than  he  was  in  the  field,  for 
the  celebrated  general,  Hideyoshi,  the  perse- 
cutor of  the  Christians,  eventually  drove  all 
foes  before  him,  Masaie  along  with  the  rest. 

185 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

Yet  Hideyoshi  was  generous  enough  to  give 
the  government  of  a  considerable  territory 
into  the  hands  of  his  conquered  enemy,  who, 
however,  f  eehng  that  he  had  enough  of  war, 
soon  retired  from  active  hfe,  giving  his 
power  in  turn  over  to  his  boyish  son,  who  had 
been  entrusted  to  the  guardianship  of  a 
worthy  farmer's  son  named  Nabeshima.  This 
rustic  guardian  was  wise  and  brave  and  am- 
bitious. It  was  not  long  until  his  usurpation 
of  powder  had  so  enraged  the  rightful  ruler 
that  the  young  prince,  passionate  but  help- 
less, took  his  own  life.  Thereupon  Nabe- 
shima's  son  was  appointed  legal  successor, 
and  the  prosperous  rule  of  the  Nabeshima 
family  began,  only  to  terminate  in  the  great 
revolution  of  1868,  when  the  prince  of  Saga 
returned  all  his  lands  to  the  restored  Mikado. 
The  present  Nabeshima  is  a  marquis,  with  a 
handsome  home  near  Saga,  which  he  some- 
times visits,  though  his  head-quarters  are  in 
Tokyo.  I  taught  school  daily  in  the  ancient 
castle,  which  has  lost  its  former  splendor, 
though  it  is  not  by  any  means  devoid  of 
interest  even  in  its  ruin.  Here  and  there  in 
the  city  grow  stately  camphor-trees,  finer 
than  any  others  in  all  Japan,  fully  justify- 
ing the  origin  of  the  name  of  Saga.    While 

186 


IN   THE    SOUTH 

the  city  has  dedined  from  the  high  position 
of  wealth  to  which  it  once  attained,  it  is  still 
prosperous,  with  its  rice  exchange,  its  great 
stores,  its  government  of  a  large  section  of 
Kyushu  under  the  crown,  and  its  excellent 
schools. 

Saga  has  given  its  name  to  one  of  the 
numerous  petty  wars  that  followed  the  res- 
toration of  1868.  It  was  in  1874  that  an 
adventurous  spirit  named  Eto  returned  to 
this  city  from  his  position  under  the  govern- 
ment in  Tokyo,  and  attempted  to  incite  re- 
bellion—if such  it  may  be  called— in  order 
to  undertake  an  expedition  for  the  subjuga- 
tion of  Korea.  Japan  has  always  been  un- 
easy about  Korea.  But  he  and  his  followers 
were  conquered,  so  that  all  that  remains  be- 
sides their  memory  are  a  few  bullet-holes  in 
the  castle  wall.  Yet  their  memory  is  cer- 
tainly kept  fresh.  Within  a  short  distance 
of  the  old  feudal  "  palace"  which  became  my 
home,  stands  a  monument  in  memory  of 
these  defeated  soldiers,  of  striking  design 
and  most  noteworthy  workmanship.  It  con- 
sists in  a  huge  tapering,  cylindrical  pedestal, 
built  of  heavy  masonry,  surmounted  by  a 
turtle, — the  Oriental  emblem  of  eternity, — 
upon  whose  back  stands  a  tall,  unpohshed 

187 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

stone,  which  bears  the  simple  memorial  in- 
scription. People  come  here  to  admire  and 
to  worship,  although  their  loyal  allegiance  is 
freely  given  to  the  national  government 
now,  just  as  many  of  us  in  the  South  are 
true  Americans,  while  devoted  to  the  mem- 
ory of  Lee.  Not  far  from  this  Eto  monu- 
ment is  a  large  temple,  built  and  dedicated  in 
honor  of  the  soldiers  that  fell  in  devotion  to 
their  leader. 


I  came  to  this  old-fashioned  town  to  teach 
these  Japanese  Southerners  the  language  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  peoples,  for  ambitious 
purposes  w^iich  some  of  them,  as  we  have 
seen,  were  subsequently  frank  enough  to  ex- 
pose. When  the  day  of  inauguration  came, 
the  principal  of  the  school  informed  me  that 
my  presence  was  desired,  in  order  that  I 
might  be  formally  introduced  to  the  boys. 
This  principal  was  a  pleasant,  dignified  man, 
with  a  fair  knowledge  of  English.  He  re- 
ceived me  most  kindly,  and,  after  a  little 
chat  in  the  school  parlor,  the  teachers  were 
marched  in  and  presented  to  their  new  asso- 
ciate. There  were  eighteen  of  us  altogether. 
My  own  official  position  in  the  school  w^as 

188 


IN   THE    SOUTH 

next  to  that  of  the  principal;  who,  by  the 
way,  was  an  officer  of  the  government  of  no 
mean  rank.  Things  are  carried  on  with  all 
due  ceremony  in  this  school,  which  is,  of 
course,  a  government  institution, — of  the 
ordinary  middle  grade.  The  principal  has 
his  secretary,  a  sort  of  prime  minister,  dis- 
charging the  actual  duties  of  his  superior. 
Then  there  is  a  treasurer,  and  a  discipli- 
narian. The  latter  drills  the  boys  daily  in 
military  tactics. 

After  this  general  greeting  from  the 
teachers,  the  principal  said  to  me,  "  Now  let 
me  introduce  you  to  my  boys — our  boys." 
So  we  proceeded  to  the  large  entry  hall, 
w^here  the  drill-master  had  massed  his  com- 
pany of  three  hundred  and  thirty  sturdy 
fellows  in  a  closely-packed  square.  A  tem- 
porary stand  had  been  erected,  from  which 
the  principal  made  a  short  speech  of  intro- 
duction. After  I  had  made  a  shorter  one, 
the  boys  gave  a  stiif  military  salute,  and  I 
was  from  that  time  regularly  installed  as  a 
teacher  in  the  school. 

My  duties  consisted  in  teaching  Conver- 
sation and  Composition,  Reading,  and  Dic- 
tation. I  would  go  to  the  school  at  ten  in 
the  morning,  and  leave  at  three  in  the  af ter- 

189 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

noon.  An  interval  of  thirty  minutes  is  al- 
lowed at  noon  for  lunch.  There  is  also  a 
recess  of  ten  minutes  between  classes,  which 
are  taught  an  hour  at  a  time.  Each  class  has 
its  separate  room,  where  the  teacher  goes  to 
meet  it.  The  teachers  have  a  large  room  to 
themselves  in  the  second  story,  each  with  his 
desk,  chair,  and  small  brazier  containing 
charcoal.  The  only  stove  in  the  building  is 
in  the  centre  of  the  teachers'  room,  and  as 
it  is  impolite  to  wear  an  overcoat  in  the  pres- 
ence of  company,  the  sole  resource  for  the 
shivering  foreigner  is  to  wxar  his  overcoat 
under  his  undercoat,  so  to  speak.  I  kept 
myself  comfortable  by  enveloping  in  heavy 
flannels,  three  vests,  and  a  heavy  short  coat. 
But  I  often  felt  ashamed  when  I  saw  those 
boys  sitting  there  in  their  thin  kimonos^  with 
their  throats  exposed,  and  their  brown  legs 
bare.  The  teachers  say  it  is  a  part  of  the 
boys'  education  to  teach  them  to  endure. 
They  are  surely  patient,  manl}^  polite,  and 
studious  fellows,  though  some  of  them  are 
insufFerablv  conceited. 

The  building  in  which  our  school  was  long 
conducted  is  an  ancient  castle,  to  which  allu- 
sion has  already  been  made.  It  is  enclosed 
by  a  massive  and  very  old  stone  wall,  about 

i90 


IN   THE    SOUTH 

which  is  a  deep,  wide  moat,  in  which  grows 
every  year  a  crop  of  beautiful  lotus  flowers. 
The  castle  is  a  rambling,  two-storied  build- 
ing, quite  unlike  the  European  castle.  Many 
of  its  windows  are  of  paper,  affording  but 
little  protection  from  the  wintry  blasts.  The 
roof  is  of  tiles,  the  timbers  very  heavy,  the 
ceiling  low,  arched,  and  dusky  with  paint  and 
years.  At  the  gate  in  the  heavy  wall  is  a 
porter's  lodge,  from  which  a  clear-voiced 
bugle  sounds  out  the  daily  calls  to  duty. 
Near  by  this  lodge  is  a  weather  observatory, 
with  its  anemometer  and  its  time -gun,  which 
latter  is  fired  every  day  at  noon.  A  full 
retinue  of  servants  is  employed  in  and  about 
the  building,  ready  at  all  times  to  do  the 
teacher's  bidding. 

The  branches  taught  are  English,  Ger- 
man, Chinese,  Japanese,  General  History, 
Geography,  Mathematics, — embracing  Al- 
gebra and  Geometry;  Chemistry,  Physics, 
Ethics,  Zoology,  Drawing,  Agriculture, 
Gymnastics,  and  Military  Tactics.  The 
course  requires  five  years,  the  boys  coming 
to  this  school  from  a  primary  school,  and 
going  hence  to  a  still  higher  academy, 
whence  they  are  sent  to  the  Tokyo  Univer- 
sity for  a  finish.     Saga  happens  to  be  an 

191 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

educational  centre,  for  it  contains,  besides 
the  large  institution  in  which  I  taught,  a 
primary  school,  a  large  normal  school,  and 
several  schools  for  girls.  One  can  hardly 
turn  a  corner  without  meeting  some  student, 
in  his  funny  costume,  consisting  in  a  flow- 
ing robe,  bare  legs,  wooden  shoes,  and  a 
German  blue-cloth  cap,  on  the  front  of 
which  is  a  Chinese  character  showing  to  what 
school  he  belongs.  Our  students  all  have 
their  rooms  apart  from  the  castle,  coming 
there  only  for  recitations  and  public  exer- 
cises. The  chief  of  these  public  exercises 
consists  in  a  unanimous  worshipful  bow  be- 
fore the  picture  of  the  Emperor.  Patriot- 
ism is  strongly  inculcated;  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  find  any  where  a  set  of  people  more  in 
love  with  their  country  than  are  the  Japan- 
ese students. 

Especial  attention  is  paid  to  the  study  of 
English.  Out  of  the  eighteen  teachers,  no 
less  than  six  of  them  instructed  in  that  for- 
eign tongue,  while  only  one  taught  German. 
Besides  the  branches  under  mv  direction. 
Grammar,  Spelling,  and  Translation  were 
taught  by  the  native  teachers. 

By  and  by  the  government  built  us  a  brand 
new  school  building,  and  moved  us  out  of 

192 


Southern  School-girls 


IN   THE    SOUTH 

the  castle.  One  fateful  night  a  drunken 
teacher  of  morals  upset  his  ash-tray  on  the 
matting,  and  the  new  building  was  soon 
aflame  from  end  to  end.  In  the  midst  of  the 
fire  I  witnessed  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
intensity  of  Japanese  schoolboy  patriotism. 
I  came  upon  a  group  of  seniors,  woe-begone 
and  actually  weeping.  When  they  saw  me, 
one  of  them  sobbed, — 

"  Oh,  teacher,  we  are  filled  with  the  sor- 
rowful!" 

I  tried  to  console  him  with  the  assurance 
that  we  should  have  a  new  building  finer 
than  the  one  now  burning. 

"No,  no!"  he  said;  " it  is  not  the  building 
that  sorrows  us;  our  Emperor's  picture  is 
burn!" 

It  was  a  photograph  that  could  be  re- 
placed for  less  than  a  dollar;  but  the  fact 
that  the  Emperor  was  being  treated  with  dis- 
respect by  having  his  picture  burnt  meant 
more  to  these  frenzied  young  patriots  than 
the  destruction  of  their  fine  new  school.  I 
am  very  sure  that  any  one  of  them  would 
cheerfully  have  risked  his  life  to  rescue  the 
cremated  photograph. 

Classes  of  students  and  teachers  flocked 
to  my  house  each  week  to  study  the  English 

13  193 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

Bible.  It  was  the  language  alone  that  they 
cared  for;  but  now  and  then  the  power  of 
the  living  Word  w^ould  win  them  almost  in 
spite  of  themselves,  and  lead  them  to  love 
the  Gospel. 

I  think  it  is  worth  while  to  mention  here 
one  of  the  interesting  experiences  that  oc- 
curred during  our  study  of  the  life  of  Christ. 
When  the  teachers'  classes  came  to  the  first 
mention  of  the  subject  of  demoniacal  pos- 
session, I  expected  them  to  raise  grave  objec- 
tions, and  had  endeavored  to  prepare  for 
persuasion.  For  these  teachers  are  bold  and 
alert  in  their  use  of  the  methods  of  rational- 
ism, and  are  usually  incredulous  to  the  core. 
To  my  surprise,  however,  they  treated  "  pos- 
session" as  a  matter  of  course.  It  is  a  com- 
mon belief  in  Japan,  where  the  "  demon"  is 
always  embodied  in  a  fox.  For  the  benefit 
of  such  as  are  interested  in  this  subject,  I 
append  the  following  remarks  of  an  eminent 
German  rationalist  employed  in  the  Im- 
perial University  at  Tokyo,  who  has  had 
peculiar  opportunities  for  the  study  of 
these  cases  in  a  large  hospital  under  his 
charge.  For  this  I  must  again  acknowledge 
indebtedness  to  Professor  Chamberlain. 

"Possession  by  foxes  {kitsune-tsiiki)  is  a 

194 


IN   THE    SOUTH 

form  of  nervous  disorder  or  delusion,  not  un- 
commonly observed  in  Japan.  Having  en- 
tered a  human  being,  sometimes  through  the 
breast,  more  often  through  the  space  be- 
tween the  fingernails  and  the  flesh,  the  fox 
lives  a  life  of  his  own,  apart  from  the  proper 
self  of  the  person  who  is  harboring  him. 
There  thus  results  a  sort  of  double  entity  or 
double  consciousness.  The  person  possessed 
hears  and  understands  everything  that  the 
fox  inside  says  or  thinks,  and  the  two  often 
engage  in  a  loud  and  violent  dispute,  the  fox 
speaking  in  a  voice  altogether  different 
from  that  which  is  natural  to  the  individual. 
The  only  difference  between  the  cases  of 
possession  mentioned  in  the  Bible  and  those 
observed  in  Japan  is  that  here  it  is  almost  ex- 
clusively women  that  are  attacked — mostly 
women  of  the  lower  classes.  Among  the 
predisposing  conditions  may  be  mentioned  a 
weak  intellect,  a  superstitious  turn  of  mind, 
and  such  debilitating  diseases  as,  for  in- 
stance, typhoid  fever.  Possession  never 
occurs  except  in  such  subjects  as  have  heard 
of  it  already,  and  believe  in  the  reahty  of  its 
existence. 

"The  explanation  of  the  disorder  is  not 
so  far  to  seek  as  might  be  supposed.    Pos- 

195 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

session  is  evidently  related  to  hysteria  and  to 
the  hypnotic  phenomena  which  physiologists 
have  recently  studied  with  so  much  care,  the 
cause  of  all  alike  being  the  fact  that, 
whereas  in  healthy  persons  one-half  of  the 
brain  alone  is  actively  engaged, — in  right- 
handed  persons  the  left  half  of  the  brain, 
and  in  left-handed  persons  the  right, — leav- 
ing the  other  half  to  contribute  only  in  a 
general  manner  to  the  function  of  thought; 
nervous  excitement  arouses  this  other  half, 
and  tlie  two — one  the  organ  of  the  usual  self, 
the  other  the  organ  of  the  new  pathologi- 
cally affected  self — are  set  over  against  each 
other.  The  rationale  of  possession  is  an 
auto-suggestion,  an  idea  arising  either  with 
apparent  spontaneity  or  else  from  the  sub- 
ject-matter of  it  being  talked  about  by 
others  in  the  patient's  presence,  and  then 
overmastering  her  weak  mind  exactly  as 
happens  in  hypnosis.  In  the  same  manner, 
the  idea  of  the  possibility  of  cure  will  often 
actually  effect  the  cure.  The  cure-worker 
must  be  a  person  of  strong  mind  and  power 
of  will,  and  must  enjoy  the  patient's  full 
confidence.  For  this  reason  the  priests  of 
the  Nichiren  sect,  which  is  the  most  super- 
stitious and  bigoted  of  Japanese  Buddhist 

196 


IX   THE    SOUTH 

sects,  are  the  most  successful  expellers  of 
foxes.  Occasionally  fits  and  screams  accom- 
pany the  exit  of  the  fox.  In  all  cases — even 
when  the  fox  leaves  quietly — great  prostra- 
tion remains  for  a  day  or  two,  and  some- 
times the  patient  is  unconscious  of  what  has 
happened. 

"  To  mention  but  one  among  several  cases, 
I  was  once  called  in  to  a  girl  with  typhoid 
fever.     She  recovered;  but  during  her  con- 
valescence, she  heard  the  women  around  her 
talk  of  another  woman  who  had  a  fox,  and 
w^ho  would  doubtless  do  her  best  to  pass  it 
on  to  some  one  else,  in  order  to  be  rid  of  it. 
At  that  moment  the  girl  experienced  an  ex- 
traordinary sensation.     The  fox  had  taken 
possession  of  her.    All  her  efforts  to  get  rid 
of  him  were  vain.     'He  is  coming!   he  is 
coming!'  she  would  cry,  as  a  fit  of  the  fox 
drew  near.    '  Oh!  what  shall  I  do?    Here  he 
is!'     And  then,  in  a  strange,  dry,  cracked 
voice,  the  fox  would  speak,  and  mock  his  un- 
fortunate hostess.     Thus  matters  continued 
for  three  weeks,  till  a  priest  of  the  Nichiren 
sect  was  sent  for.    The  priest  upbraided  the 
fox  sternly.     The  fox   (always,  of  course, 
speaking  through  the  girl's  mouth)  argued 
on  the  other  side.     At  last  he  said:   'I  am 

197 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

tired  of  her.  I  ask  no  better  than  to  leave 
her.  What  will  you  give  me  for  doing  so?' 
The  priest  asked  what  he  would  take.  The 
fox  replied,  naming  certain  cakes  and  other 
things,  which,  said  he,  must  be  placed  before 
the  altar  of  such  and  such  a  temple,  at  4  p.m. 
on  such  and  such  a  day.  The  girl  was  con- 
scious of  the  words  her  lips  were  made  to 
frame,  but  was  powerless  to  say  anything  in 
her  own  jDcrson.  When  the  day  and  hour 
arrived,  the  offerings  bargained  for  were 
taken  by  her  relations  to  the  place  indicated, 
and  the  fox  quitted  the  girl  at  that  very 
hour. 

"A  curious  scene  of  a  somewhat  similar 
nature  may  occasionally  be  witnessed  at  Mi- 
nobu,  the  romantically  situated  chief  temple 
of  the  Nichiren  sect,  some  three  days'  jour- 
ney from  Tokyo  into  the  interior.  There 
the  people  sit  praying  for  hours  before  the 
gigantic  statues  of  the  ferocious-looking 
gods  called  Ni-5,  which  are  fabled  to  have 
been  carried  thither  from  Kamakura  in  a 
single  night,  on  the  back  of  the  hero  Asaina, 
some  six  hundred  years  ago.  The  devotees 
sway  their  bodies  backward  and  forw^ard, 
and  ceaselessly  repeat  the  same  invocation, 
"Na  Mu  Miyo  Ho  Ben  Go  Kiyo!    Na  Mu 

198 


IN    THE    SOUTH 

Miyo  Ho  Ren  Go  Kiyol'  At  last,  to  some 
of  the  more  nervous  among  them,  wearied 
and  excited  as  they  are,  the  statues'  eyes  seem 
suddenly  to  start  into  life,  and  they  them- 
selves rise  wildly,  feeling  a  snake,  or  mayhe  a 
tiger,  inside  their  body,  this  unclean  animal 
being  regarded  as  the  physical  incarnation  of 
their  sins.  Then,  with  a  cry,  the  snake  or  ser- 
pent goes  out  of  them,  and  they  themselves 
are  left  fainting  on  the  ground." 

Time  fails  me  to  tell  more  of  these  four 
strange  years,  spent  in  a  Japanese  school. 
I  should,  however,  be  unjust  to  myself  and 
untrue  to  mv  alien  associates  if  I  failed  to 
mention  their  conduct  in  a  time  of  serious 
trial.  For  the  day  came  when  the  insidious 
climate  wrought  its  work  on  overstrained 
nerves,  and  the  plans  of  my  hfe  were 
changed  by  the  imperative  orders  of  physi- 
cians. What  I  wish  to  say  is,  that  in  those 
days  of  mist  and  fog,  when  I  stood  a  helpless 
stranger  in  a  strange  land,  knowing  not 
whither  to  turn  or  how, — no  friends  could 
have  been  gentler,  more  considerate,  more 
helpful  than  those  dusky  pagan  Southerners, 
under  whose  silken  vests  beat  the  hearts  of 

199 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

as  chivalrous  gentlemen  as  ever  brake  lance 
in  a  tourney.  Saladin  was  a  pagan.  And 
when  I  think  of  those  Japanese  gentlemen 
and  their  gentle  deeds  in  the  days  when  they 
were  true  "  friends  in  need,"  I  feel  like 
erasing  from  these  pages  every  sentence 
which  is  not  a  compliment,  every  criticism 
that  is  not  a  tribute;  while  their  beautiful 
word  of  parting  has  for  me  an  added  new 
meaning:  Sayonara — If  it  must  he  so! 


200 


VIII 

THE   PEOPLE   OF  THE 
NORTH 


^  The  Aborigines  of  Japan — 
Ainu  Characteristics  —  King 
Penri — Strenuous  Pastimes — 
The  Spiritual  Traditions  of  a 
Primitive  People 


VIII 

The  People  of  the  North 

It  is  a  far  cry  from  Saga  to  Sapporo. 
When  a  man  breaks  down  from  "  Japanese 
head,"  or  brain  exhaustion,  in  the  pecuharly 
oppressive  cHmate  of  Southern  Japan,  the 
first  expedient  is  always  a  trip  to  the  bracing 
chmate  of  the  North.  Yezo  is  an  island 
almost  as  different  from  Hondo  and  Kyu- 
shu as  though  it  belonged  to  another  conti- 
nent. And  I  shall  never  forget  the  keen 
delight  of  the  bracing  Northern  air  that 
summer  when  I  had  to  lay  down  my  work 
ingloriously  and  go  questing  for  fresh  gray 
matter.  I  may  sav  here,  however,  that  while 
Yezo  helped,  it  did  not  heal ;  therefore,  after 
several  months  of  vain  experiment,  the  doc- 
tors drove  me  all  the  way  across  the  ocean, 
and  told  me  to  stay  at  home. 

Sapporo  is  a  town  that  lies  in  the  heart  of 
Ainu  land.  The  Ainu  are  the  aborigines  of 
Japan,  so  far  as  w^e  can  know.  There  are 
traces  of  a  still  older  race,  but  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  they  were  simply  the  ancestors 

203 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

of  the  j)resent  Ainu.  This  much  is  clear: 
that  Avheii  the  Japanese  conquered  their 
island  eni2)ire  it  Avas  by  driving  the  swarms 
of  Ainu  slo\\']v  northward  until  at  last  the 
vanishing"  remnant  lodged  in  the  farthest 
North,  precisely  as  with  a  similar  case  in 
England.  I^ocalities  in  every  section  of 
Ja^^an  still  bear  Ainu  names;  in  fact,  it  is 
not  unlikely  that  Blount  Fuji  itself  was 
named  by  the  Ainu  in  days  when  its  fires 
were  still  active,  as  "  the  goddess  of  fire," 
though  this  is  a  question  of  dispute. 

It  would  be  hard  to  find  two  peoples  more 
thoroughly  unlike  than  the  Ainu  and  their 
Japanese  conquerors.  I  am  free  to  confess 
that,  in  some  respects  at  least,  the  differ- 
ence seems  to  me  to  be  in  favor  of  the  Ainu. 
They  are  lazy  and  dirty  to  a  degree;  but 
there  is  an  openness  and  honesty  about  them 
that  one  looks  for  in  vain  among  the  pos- 
sessors of  "  that  restless  Japanese  eye"  of 
which  Dr.  Griffis  speaks.  To  me,  there  w^as 
the  same  tonic  relief  in  passing  from  the  one 
people  to  the  other  as  was  brought  by  the 
change  of  climate.  Among  the  Japanese, 
no  matter  how  friendlv  thev  mio-ht  be  and 
often  are,  one  always  feels  that  he  is  living 
among  aliens;   with  the  Ainu,  he  somehow 

204 


THE   AINU 

knows  that  he  is  with  friends.  There  are 
many  indications  of  their  Aryan  descent, 
and  consequent  kinship  with  us.  They  are 
certainly  of  a  totally  different  race  from 
their  conquerors. 

In  physical  appearance  the  Ainu  are  much 
more  prepossessing  than  their  neighbors — 
taller,  broader,  straighter,  more  sturdy  alto- 
gether, and  with  luxuriant  patriarchal  beards 
that  make  the  possibly  envious  Japanese  de- 
ride them  as  "hairy  dogs."  The  more  aged 
men  inspire  a  positive  feeling  of  veneration. 
As  they  would  come  to  the  doors  of  their 
huts,  during  the  tour  I  made  with  their  be- 
loved missionary  chieftain  through  the  very 
thick  of  their  conquered  land, — as  they 
would  stand  with  stately  gesture  and  musical 
benediction  of  "  Peace,"  one  was  inevitably 
reminded  of  the  Biblical  pictures  of  Abra- 
ham and  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  half 
tempted  to  think  that  these  modern  Oriental 
patriarchs  had  just  stepped  from  the  vistas 
of  antiquity. 

I  am  well  aware  that  other  travellers  have 
scorned  "the  hairy  Aino"  (as  the  name  is 
improperly  spelled),  and  have  seen  nothing 
but  their  dirt  and  shiftlessness.  Every  one 
must  speak  for  himself,  however,  and  I  for 

305 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

one  cannot  withhold  admiration  from  a  race 
at  once  so  crushed  by  their  conquerors  and 
yet  with  their  "milk  of  human  kindness" 
quite  unsoured, — a  race  gentle  and  confiding 
towards  strangers,  because  they  trust  one 
another,  as  the  Japanese  seldom  or  never  do, 
— a  people  as  brave  in  the  chase  as  though 
each  one  were  a  Nimrod,  and  w^ho  therefore 
cannot  be  justly  called  cowards, — a  people 
who,  although  they  have  no  arts  and  no  let- 
ters, are  saturated  through  and  through  with 
an  abiding  sense  of  the  spiritual. 

I  was  more  fortunate  than  other  travellers 
have  been  in  the  manner  of  my  introduction. 
There  is  but  one  European  who  thoroughly 
understands  the  Ainu  race,  and  that  is  my 
noble  friend  the  Rev.  John  Batchelor,  who 
for  many  years  has  toiled  with  ceaseless  con- 
secration in  their  service.  He  has  reduced 
their  language  to  a  WTitten  form  and  gram- 
mar, and  collected  various  specimens  of  their 
remarkable  mythology  and  folk-lore.  To 
his  learning  and  kind  helpfulness  this  chap- 
ter owes  whatever  value  it  may  hold. 

Allow  me  to  introduce  the  reader  to  a  real 
king:  Penri,  king  of  the  Ainu.  For  the 
munificent  sum  of  five  cents,  this  royal,  Lear- 
like  personage  not  only  condescended  to  be 

206 


THE   AINU 

sketched  in  all  the  splendor  of  his  regal  garb, 
but  also  presented  me,  into  the  bargain,  with 
a  handsome  willow  iiiao,  or  votive  offering, 
which  still  adorns  my  walls.  Penri  lives  in 
the  Ainu  capital  of  Piratori,  a  squalid  village 
of  some  hundred  and  fifty  souls,  all  kin.  He 
has  in  his  time  been  a  doughty  man  of  the 
chase — bear-killing  having  been  his  favorite 
pursuit.  On  one  of  his  feet  you  may  see  a 
token  of  his  cool  pluck  and  presence  of  mind 
in  danger.  Quite  unlike  the  other  islands  of 
Japan,  Yezo  abounds  in  poisonous  serpents, 
the  most  deadly  being  the  viper.  Penri  re- 
ceived in  the  forest  one  day  a  fang-stroke 
full  upon  one  of  his  toes,  and  with  as  little 
concern  as  though  removing  a  splinter,  sat 
down  and  amputated  the  stricken  member 
instanter. 

His  curse  has  been  the  curse  of  all  the 
Ainu,  the  sin  of  drunkenness.  The  wretched 
wine-vendor  of  the  conquering  race  has  pro- 
ceeded against  these  simple  huntsmen  with 
the  same  weapon  that  unscrupulous  Ameri- 
cans used  against  the  Indian,  with  the  result 
that  the  Ainu,  like  our  own  aborigines,  are  a 
rapidly  vanishing  race.  Formerly  inhabit- 
ing the  whole  of  Japan,  their  number  is  now" 
reduced  to  a  paltrv  fifteen  thousand  among 


JAPAN    TO-DAY 

the  mountains  of  Yezo,  and,  unless  signs  fail, 
a  few  years  more  will  witness  their  entire 
extinction. 

Despite  their  servile  subjection  to  their 
conquerors,  the  Ainu  still  show  in  the  chase 
a  hardihood  and  primitive  bravery  that  could 
scarcely  be  surpassed.  Where  can  one  find 
a  more  spirited  description  of  adventure 
than  Mr.  Batchelor's  account  of  an  Ainu 
bear-hunt  ? 

"  In  very  early  spring,  when  the  snow  is 
quite  hard,  so  that  a  person  can  easily  w^alk 
upon  it,  the  Ainu  take  their  dogs  and  go  to 
see  if  they  can  find  a  bear's  den.  The  dens 
are  recognized  by  a  slight  discoloration  of  the 
surface  of  the  snow,  in  the  centre  of  which 
a  small  hole  is  to  be  seen.  This  is  caused 
by  the  warm  breath  of  the  animal  inside. 
If  successful,  prayers  are  said,  the  snow  is 
cleared  away,  and  long  sticks  poked  into  the 
den  to  try  and  drive  the  bear  out ;  the  dogs, 
too,  are  set  to  worry  the  beast.  Sometimes 
the  bear  comes  out  and  is  shot,  but  at  others 
it  refuses  to  stir. 

"If  neither  sticks  nor  worrying  dogs  can 
stir  the  beast,  a  fire  is  lighted  over  the  mouth 
of  the  cave,  and  smoke  is  tried.  This  is  said 
to  be  generally  successful,  but  not  always. 

208 


THE   AINU 

"  Some  bear-hunters  say  that  bruin  abso- 
lutely refuses  to  kill  anything  in  its  own 
den.  Therefore,  if  a  bear  will  not  come  out 
when  requested,  in  the  ways  above  men- 
tioned, a  brave  Ainu  ties  his  head  and  face 
up,  leaving  only  his  eyes  exposed ;  hands  his 
bow  and  arrows  to  his  friends,  and,  with  his 
hunting-knife  firmly  fixed  in  his  girdle, 
makes  a  call  upon  the  bear  in  its  home.  The 
animal  gets  so  angry  and  surprised  at  this 
that  it  unceremoniously  seizes  the  intruder 
with  its  paw^s,  and  hastily  thrusts  him  behind 
its  back.  The  Ainu  now  draws  his  knife  and 
pricks  the  beast  behind,  and  this  is  said  to 
make  it  take  its  dej)arture.  Of  course,  as 
soon  as  the  animal  gets  outside,  a  few  poi- 
soned arrows  are  sent  into  its  body. 

"  This  is  the  critical  and  dangerous  mo- 
ment ;  for  the  bear,  now  in  pain  and  full  of 
wrath,  furiously  attacks  its  enemies.  If  it 
comes  to  very  close  quarters  with  a  man,  and 
stands  upon  its  haunches  ready  to  strike  him, 
this  is  considered  to  be  a  golden  opportunity ; 
for  the  man  throws  aside  his  bow  and  arrows, 
and,  drawing  his  knife,  rushes  into  the  ani- 
mal's embrace  and  thrusts  the  knife  home 
into  its  heart.  This  kills  the  beast  in  a  mo- 
ment.    But  the  man  who  does  this  hardly 

14  209 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

ever  gets  off  free;  he  is  pretty  sure  to  get 
scratched,  sometimes  very  severely,  and 
some,  we  are  told,  have  been  nearly  scalped 
and  killed  in  this  way." 

Even  their  favorite  games  are  of  suffi- 
ciently strenuous  character  to  satisfy  the 
most  exacting.  "  Ulvara"  is  nothing  more 
nor  less  than  the  whipping-post  used  as  a 
pastime.  The  contestants,  one  after  an- 
other, bare  their  backs  and  grasp  a  stake  or 
tree.  Then  a  practised  executioner  seizes  a 
long  wooden  club  with  but  a  thin  sheathing 
of  cloth  on  its  business  end  and  proceeds  to 
lay  on  blows  that  are  apparently  as  hard  as 
he  can  possibly  bestow.  The  winner  is  the 
man  who  is  last  to  cry,  "Enough."  If  any 
foreign  spectator  expresses  doubt  as  to  the 
actual  energy  of  the  blows,  administered 
with  such  apparent  severity,  the  executioner 
will  smilingly  offer  to  let  the  skeptic  see  for 
himself. 

We  were  in  the  heart  of  Penri's  country 
at  the  time  of  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun, 
scheduled  to  be  visible  in  Yezo  more  favor- 
ably than  in  any  other  quarter  of  the  globe. 
Only  a  few  miles  from  us  an  elaborate  tem- 
porary observatory  had  been  established  by 
enthusiastic  American  astronomers  who  had 

^10 


THE   AINU 

crossed  the  Pacific  for  no  other  purpose  than 
to  be  present  in  Yezo  for  the  one  priceless 
hour  of  a  century.  But,  alas!  when  the 
eventful  hour  arrived,  the  heavens  were  ob- 
scured by  a  pall  of  impenetrable  cloud,  and 
we  were  afterwards  told  that  certain  mem- 
bers of  the  astronomical  party  were  com- 
pletely prostrated  with  disappointment. 

As  for  us,  we  also  missed  a  coveted  oppor- 
tunity— the  sight  of  an  Ainu  community  in 
the  dreaded  presence  of  a  solar  eclipse. 
Their  traditions  as  to  this  phenomenon  all 
run  somewhat  as  follows: 

"  When  my  father  was  a  child  he  heard 
his  old  grandfather  say  that  his  grandfather 
saw  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun.  The  earth  be- 
came quite  dark,  and  shadows  could  not  be 
seen;  the  birds  went  to  roost,  and  the  dogs 
began  to  howl.  The  black,  dead  sun  shot  out 
tongues  of  fire  and  lightning  from  its  sides, 
and  the  stars  shone  brightly.  Then  the  sun 
began  to  return  to  life,  and  the  faces  of  the 
people  wore  an  aspect  of  death;  and  as  the 
sun  gradually  came  to  life,  then  men  began 
to  live  again." 

Mr.  Batchelor  tells  us  that  the  sun  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  residence  of  a  goddess,  who 
is  its  ruler  and  life  and  light.    If  the  goddess 

211 


JAPAN    TO-DAY 

disappear  from  her  dwelling,  the  blackness 
of  course  ensues.  The  people  are  therefore 
greatly  terrified  by  an  ecli2:)se,  and  cry  out, 
"  The  sun  is  fainting  away!  the  luminary  is 
suddenly  dying!"  Not  only  so,  but  they  en- 
deavor to  revive  the  goddess,  by  flinging 
M^ater  upwards  into  her  fainting  face,  witli 
the  incantatory  prayer,  "  O  goddess,  we  re- 
vive thee!  O  goddess,  we  revive  thee !"  An 
eclipse  is  the  more  serious  to  their  imagina- 
tion, inasmuch  as,  despite  their  ignorance, 
they  have  subtle  enough  knowledge  of  na- 
ture to  believe  that  heat  is  almost  synony- 
mous with  life ;  their  best  way  of  bidding  a 
person  farewell  consisting  in  the  fervent 
words,  " ^lay  you  be  kept  warm!"  The 
dying  away  of  the  sun  would  therefore  mean 
to  them,  as  to  us,  the  dying  away  of  all  life. 
This  is  but  one  example  of  the  remarkable 
spiritual  intuitions  of  this  simple  yet  subtle- 
minded  race.  A  still  more  striking  illustra- 
tion is  in  their  belief  that  the  earth  is  round. 
Apparently  they  evolved  this  faith  from 
their  own  inner  consciousness,  as  the  ancient 
Chinese  and  Japanese,  in  common  with  the 
whole  world  before  Columbus,  believed  the 
earth  to  be  flat.  Yet  the  Ainu  teach  that 
"  the  world  is  a  vast  round  ocean,  in  the  midst 

213 


THE   AINU 

of  which  are  very  many  islands,  or  worlds, 
or  countries."  Their  w^ord  for  the  various 
divisions  of  land  is  always  "  floating-earth," 
preceded  by  some  qualifying  adjective  to  de- 
note the  size  or  location.  If  asked  why  they 
believe  that  the  world  is  round,  they  give 
the  remarkable  answer:  "Because  the  sun 
rises  in  the  east,  sets  in  the  west,  and  comes 
up  the  next  morning  in  the  east  again." 

These  wonderful  folk  believe  that  evil 
came  into  the  world  by  means  of  a  "  tree  of 
evil,"  w^hile  their  ideas  of  the  chaos  that  ex- 
isted when  the  earth  was  as  yet  "without 
form,  and  void,"  sound  almost  like  a  para- 
phrase of  the  opening  words  of  Genesis: 
"  In  the  beginning  the  world  was  a  great 
slushy  quagmire.  The  waters  were  hope- 
lessly mixed  up  with  the  earth,  and  nothing 
was  to  be  seen  but  a  mighty  ocean  of  bare 
miry  swamp.  All  the  land  was  mixed  up, 
aimlessly  floating  about  in  the  endless  seas. 
All  around  was  death  and  stillness.  Nothing 
existed  in  this  chaotic  mass ;  nothing  moved, 
for  it  was  altogether  incapable  of  sustaining 
life;  nor  were  there  any  living  fowls  flying 
in  the  airy  expanse  above.  All  was  cold,  soli- 
tary, and  desolate.  However,  the  clouds  had 
their  thunder  demons,  and  the  Creator  lived 

213 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

in  the  highest  heavens  with  the  hosts  of  sub- 
ordinate deities.  Then  the  great  God  de- 
termined to  make  the  earth  inhabitable." 

Enough  has  been  written  to  show  that  the 
Ainu  entertain  very  remarkable  religious 
ideas.  Perhaps  the  most  interesting  feature 
of  their  faith  consists  in  the  fact  that  while 
they  are  polytheists,  like  the  Japanese,  with 
an  indefinite  number  of  tutelar  deities,  they 
yet  recognize  as  superior  to  all  these  minor 
gods  one  supreme  God  "  tow^ering  above  all, 
who  is  the  Maker  of  all  the  others,  and  to 
whom  all  are  responsible,  for  they  are  His 
servants  and  deputies."  Him  they  call, 
"  God  the  Maker  of  places  and  worlds,  and 
possessor  of  Heaven;"  while  their  single 
W'Ord  for  "God"  conveys  the  beautiful  sig- 
nificance, "  The  Over-Shadower,"  or  "  He 
who  covers."  Sometimes  also  they  call  Him, 
"the  Support,"  "the  Pillar,"  '"the  Up- 
holder;" while  another  beautiful  name  is, 
"  The  Cradle."  "  Just  as  a  child  is  nursed 
in  the  bosom  of  a  cradle,  and  is  made  com- 
fortable, and  kept  free  from  danger  in  it, 
so  all  men  are  brought  up  and  nursed,  as  it 
were,  in  the  bosom  of  God;  for  He  is  the 
Creator,  Support,  Sustainer  of  the  universe, 
and  the  Protector  of  all  mankind." 

214 


THE   AINU 

"  Ainu  babies  are  left  in  their  cradles  quite 
alone  for  hours,  while  their  mothers  have 
gone  far  away  to  work  in  the  gardens,  or  to 
bring  in  firewood  from  the  mountains.  Of 
course  the  little  ones  cry  lustily  for  their 
mothers  sometimes,  but  they  soon  learn  the 
virtue  of  quiet  patience,  and  to  know  that, 
after  all,  they  are  not  forsaken,  but  are  in  a 
safe  and  secure  place.  So,  say  they,  human 
beings  should  exercise  the  like  patience, 
knowing  that  whatever  happens  they  are  not 
forsaken  by  God,  and  are  secure  in  His 
keeping." 

Mrs.  Isabella  Bird  Bishop,  who  spent  a 
few  weeks  in  Yezo,  says,  in  her  "  Unbeaten 
Tracks  in  Japan,"  that  "it  is  nonsense  to 
write  of  the  religious  ideas  of  a  people  who 
have  none,  and  of  beliefs  among  a  people 
who  are  merely  adult  children.  The  travel- 
ler who  formulates  an  Aino  creed  must 
evolve  it  from  his  inner  consciousness."  Mr. 
Batchelor,  who  has  spent  more  years  among 
the  Ainu  than  this  excellent  lady  spent  in 
weeks,  says  of  them  truthfully  that  "they 
are  an  exceedingly  religious  race.  They  see 
the  hand  of  God  in  everything.  The  world, 
indeed,  is  His  temple.  Nature  His  book, 
every  man  His  priest."    He  says  that  he  has 

215 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

never  yet  met  the  Ainu  who  does  not,  before 
drinking  wine,  return  thanks  for  divine 
benefits.  A  common  form  of  "  grace"  is, 
*'0  God,  our  Nourisher,  I  thank  Thee  for 
this  food;  bless  it  to  the  service  of  my 
body." 

It  is  remarkable,  however,  that  the  Ainu 
wall  not  allow  their  women  to  pray,  and  for 
reasons  that  are  somw^hat  amusing.  An  old 
Ainu  has  explained  it  thus:  "The  women 
as  well  as  the  men  used  to  be  allowed  to 
worshi})  the  gods  and  take  part  in  all  reli- 
gious exercises;  but  our  wise  and  honored 
ancestors  forbade  them  to  do  so,  because  it 
was  thought  they  might  use  their  prayers 
against  the  men,  and  more  particularly 
against  their  husbands.  We  therefore  think 
with  our  ancestors  that  it  is  wiser  to  keep 
them  from  praying." 

Woman  is  held  by  the  Ainu  (or  "Man") 
in  great  contempt,  though  he  has  a  whole- 
some fear  of  her  anger.  A  legend  fre- 
quently vised  as  a  lectvn^e  against  female 
chattering  thus  accounts  for  the  rugged  west 
coast  of  Yezo : 

"It  is  said  that  this  island  of  Yezo  was 
made  by  two  gods,  a  male  and  a  female,  who 
were   the    deputies    of   the    Creator.      The 

216 


/^^^'.' 


'^^'//hti''"- 


iwii 


vSiF.'!     '.1/ 


Ainu  Man  and  Wife 


THE   AINU 

female  god  had  the  west  coast  allotted  to  her 
as  her  portion  of  work,  and  the  male  god  had 
the  south  and  eastern  parts  assigned  to  him. 
As  the  goddess  was  proceeding  with  her 
work,  she  happened  to  meet  with  the  sister 
of  Aioina  Kamui,  and,  instead  of  attending 
to  her  duties,  stopped  in  her  work  to  have  a 
chat  with  her,  as  is  the  general  custom  of 
women.  Whilst  they  were  talking,  the  male 
god  worked  away  and  nearly  finished  his 
portion  of  labor.  Upon  seeing  this,  the 
female  god  became  very  much  frightened, 
and,  in  order  not  to  be  behind  time,  did  her 
work  hurriedly  and  in  a  slovenly  manner. 
Hence  it  is  that  the  west  coast  of  Yezo  is  so 
rugged  and  dangerous.  If,  therefore,  any 
one  is  disposed  to  grumble  at  the  very  rough 
and  dangerous  condition  of  the  west  coast 
of  Yezo,  he  should  remember  that  it  is  not 
the  Creator  Himself  who  is  at  fault  in  this 
matter,  but  His  deputy.  The  chattering 
propensity  of  the  goddess  was  the  original 
cause." 

Perhaps  the  resentment  of  the  Ainu  to- 
wards their  chattering  goddess  has  been 
somewhat  lessened,  here  of  late,  since  it  is 
reported  that  the  hostile  movements  of  the 
Russian  vessels  are  impeded  by  the  very 

217 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

rough  and  dangerous  condition  of  the  west 
coast  of  Yezo. 

For  the  admonition  of  disobedient  chil- 
dren there  is  a  legend  which  accounts  for 
"the  man  in  the  moon"  as  follows:  "In 
ancient  times  there  was  a  lad  who  would 
neither  obey  his  father  nor  his  mother,  and 
who  even  disliked  to  fetch  Avater;  so  the 
gods,  being  angry,  put  him  in  the  side  of  the 
moon,  as  a  warning  to  all  people.  For  this 
reason,  let  all  the  world  understand  that  the 
words  of  parents,  w^hether  they  be  good  or 
evil,  must  be  obeyed/' 

The  cosmology  of  the  Ainu  clearly  recog- 
nizes the  principle  of  dualism.  There  are 
the  gods  of  the  sea,  for  example.  "  Their 
names  are  Shi  Acha  (the  rough  uncle),  and 
Mo  Acha  (the  uncle  of  peace) ,  and  they  are 
brothers.  Shi  Acha,  who  is  the  elder,  is  ever 
restless,  and  is  continually  pursuing  and  per- 
secuting his  brother.  He  is  the  originator 
of  all  storms  and  bad  weather,  and  is  the 
direct  cause  of  all  shipwrecks  and  deaths 
from  drowning  in  the  sea.  He  is  much 
feared,  but  never  worshipped.  JNIo  Acha  is 
the  god  of  fine  weather.  He  it  is  who  is 
worshipped  at  all  the  seaside  fishing-stations, 
and  it  is  to  him  that  the  clusters  of  inao  one 

218 


THE   AINU 

may  often  see  upon  the  seashore  are  gener- 
ally offered." 

Perhaps  there  has  never  been  a  race  with 
a  firmer  belief  in  immortality  than  the  Ainu. 
This  is  with  them  so  strong  that  they  have 
never  used  the  "  death  penalty"  as  a  mode 
of  punishment,  for  in  their  eyes  that  would 
be  no  penalty  at  all — it  would  simply  remove 
the  criminal  into  a  sphere  where  his  identity 
would  be  continued  and  intensified,  but  with- 
out any  pain  or  sorrow.  This  sense  of 
spiritual  survival  is  the  most  marked  feature 
of  the  Ainu  creed.  It  extends  to  every  ex- 
isting object.  The  spirit  or  essence  of  that 
which  has  once  existed  will  endure  through- 
out eternity, — whether  man,  or  animal,  or 
tree,  or  piece  of  furniture.  With  them  the 
term  "inanimate"  is  therefore  meaningless, 
as  all  objects  will  be  animate  forever,  and 
preserve  the  same  identity.  This  faith,  it 
will  be  noted,  is  entirely  different  from  the 
doctrine  of  transmigration  or  metempsycho- 
sis, which  implies  a  change  of  being  or  of 
form.  The  Japanese,  apparently,  have  but 
a  vague  sense  of  personality.  The  Ainu,  on 
the  other  hand,  regard  identity  as  such  a  pro- 
found and  unalterable  truth  that  they  will 
never  wittingly  bestow  the  same  name  upon 

219 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

two  different  persons.  "  Should  such  a 
thing  be  done,  it  would  be  looked  upon  as  a 
kind  of  theft,  and  treated  accordingly." 
The  name  pertains  to  the  individual ;  the  in- 
dividual exists  forever;  therefore  his  name 
is  his  alone  by  sacred  and  inalienable  right. 

Their  language  and  many  of  their  cus- 
toms are  pervaded  wdth  this  abiding  presence 
of  the  spiritual  and  eternal.  Their  great 
mountains  and  rivers  and  winds  are  "the 
mountains  of  God,"  "  the  rivers  and  winds  of 
God,"  and  an  especially  beautiful  flower  is 
known  as  "  a  flower  of  God."  Life  is  "  a 
shining  like  the  sun,"  and  death  is  known, 
not  as  death,  but  as  "  a  riding  into  the  setting 
sun,"  or  as  "  a  having  space  for  thought." 
Our  prosaic  "  INIilky  Way"  becomes  with 
them  the  especial  "River  of  the  Gods," 
whereon  the  gods  at  play  go  angling  for  the 
silvery  star-fish.  Wherever  among  the 
mountains  they  find  some  secluded  spot  all 
tapestried  with  vernal  beauty  and  canopied 
with  the  gloom  of  lofty  trees,  there  they  pass 
in  reverential  silence,  as  in  the  presence  of 
divinity.  My  friend  relates  that  one  day, 
when  coming  down  a  river  in  a  canoe  w^ith 
two  Ainu,  they  chanced  to  pass  some  very 
bold   cliffs   that   ran   sheer   down   into   the 

220 


THE   AINU 

water.  There  were  several  openings  in  these 
rocks  that  led  into  deep  and  thickly  wooded 
dells.  The  tops  of  the  cliffs  were  well 
wooded,  and  at  the  base  of  them  the  water 
was  dark,  slow,  and  deep,  with  a  series  of 
eddies  gently  rippling.  Altogether  the  place 
was  exceedingly  beautiful,  quiet,  and  awe- 
inspiring.  On  nearing  this  place  the  men 
ceased  rowing,  took  off  their  head-dresses, 
became  quite  silent,  and  only  moved  enough 
to  steer  their  little  craft.  On  asking  why 
they  did  this,  my  friend  was  immediately 
requested  to  remain  silent  for  a  short  time, 
because  God  had  His  home  in  that  place,  and 
it  behooves  all  men  to  keep  silence  in  the 
presence  of  the  Deity.  So  these  brave  and 
gentle  folk,  crushed  and  oppressed  and 
ignorant,  are  yet  strong  in  the  hope  of  the 
eternities,  and  wise  with  that  knowledge 
which  teaches  them  to  endure  as  seeing  Him 
that  is  invisible.  Whom  they  have  ignor- 
antly  worshipped,  is  now  being  clearly  made 
known  unto  them;  and  they  are  learning 
that  best  of  all  truths  about  God, — "  God  is 
love." 


221 


IX 

JAPANESE  TRAITS 


^  Topsy-Turvydom — Negative 
Traits :  The  Contempt  for 
Time,  the  Absence  of  Nerves, 
Want  of  Sympathy,  and  Lack 
of  Confidence — Positive  Traits  : 
Frugality,  Politeness,  and  In- 
dustry— The  Japanese  and  Chi- 
nese contrasted 


IX 

Japanese  Traits 

The  fact  that  God  "  hath  determined  the 
bounds  of  our  habitation"  gets  new  meaning 
when  one  has  travelled  and  observed  in  the 
Far  East.  Geographical  barriers  may,  in- 
deed, be  easily  surmounted,  as  when  the 
steamship  skims  across  the  great  gulf  that 
divides  America  from  Asia.  But  there  are 
other  bounds,  other  limits,  that  are  impass- 
able. The  first  time  I  ever  saw  this  truth 
expressed  was  in  the  writings  of  that  bril- 
liant French  traveller,  Pierre  Loti,  when  he 
says  that  no  matter  how  intimately  the  Occi- 
dental and  Oriental  races  intermingle,  there 
will  always  subsist  a  subtle,  elusive,  but  real 
and  radical  difference,  that  will  make  it  quite 
impossible  for  one  ever  thoroughly  to  com- 
prehend the  other. 

One  is  not  long  in  the  East  before  he  per- 
ceives that  this  is  true.  He  sees  at  once 
that  he  is  in  a  different  world,  w^here  every 
aspect  of  the  life  about  him  startles  with  its 
complete  novelty  and  surprise*     Even  the 

15  225 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

face  of  nature  wears  different  lineaments 
from  those  to  which  we  are  accustomed.  The 
fohage — the  whole  flora,  in  fact — is  dif- 
ferent from  ours.  Physicists  say  that  the 
elements  of  the  Japanese  atmosphere  are 
mingled  in  peculiar  proportions.  The  pre- 
dominant curves  of  the  mountains  are  con- 
vex instead  of  concave.  There  are  strange 
fish  in  the  sea,  strange  birds  in  the  air, 
strange  creeping  things  upon  the  ground. 
And  if  one  sends  a  telegram  home  to-day, 
it  is  likely  to  get  here  yesterday ! 

But  the  people  are  strangest  of  all.  They 
are  our  veritable  antipodes.  So  opposite  are 
their  customs  to  our  own,  that  one  is  half  in- 
clined to  think  himself  dreaming,  like  Alice 
in  Wonderland,  where  everything  was  up- 
side down  and  topsy-turvy.  Professor 
Chamberlain  has  dubbed  Japan  wdth  the 
nickname,  "  Topsy-Turvydom."  You  take 
up  a  book,  and  find  that  it  begins  where 
ours  end,  the  word  "  finis"  coming  where 
we  put  the  title-page,  while  the  foot-notes 
are  printed  at  the  top,  the  lines  running 
downwards  instead  of  crosswise,  and  from 
right  to  left  instead  of  from  left  to  right. 
You  go  to  a  dinner:  it  is  served  on  the 
floor,  and  the  first  course  is  dessert.     You 


n 

t3 

(t 
D 

ri- 
ft 


O 


<      /  J      ^      V      V 


JAPANESE    TRAITS 

go  for  a  ride,  and  find  that  the  horse  will 
let  you  mount  only  from  the  right-hand  side, 
and  that  he  will  insist  on  standing  back- 
wards in  his  stall,  with  his  head  thrust  out 
through  the  door,  and  his  tail  where  his 
head  ought  to  be.  Boats  are  hauled  on 
the  beach  stern  first.  The  sailors  will  not 
say,  "  northeast,  southwxst,"  but  "  eastnorth, 
westsouth."  Nurses  carry  children  not  in 
their  arms,  but  upon  their  backs.  Carpen- 
ters pull  their  planes  and  saws,  instead  of 
pushing  them ;  yet  when  they  use  that  awk- 
ward tool  the  adze,  comically  true  to  the 
principle  of  contrariety,  they  cut  from  them- 
selves instead  of  towards  themselves.  The 
first  time  I  saw  a  carpenter  using  an  adze, 
I  had  to  laugh.  But  when  I  told  him  why, 
it  was  his  turn  to  laugh. 

"Why,"  said  he,  "how  perfectly  absurd! 
To  chop  towards  yourself  would  be  to  cut 
yourself!" 

And  I  saw  that  it  all  depends  upon  the 
point  of  view. 

Building  a  house,  these  funny  carpenters 
construct  the  roof  first;  then,  having  num- 
bered the  pieces,  they  break  it  up  again,  and 
keep  it  until  the  substructure  is  finished. 
When  the  house  is  done,  you  will  find  that 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

the  keys  turn  in  instead  of  out.  And  when 
guests  come  to  see  you,  politeness  prompts 
them  to  remove  not  their  hats,  but  their 
shoes.  Finally,  the  color  of  mourning  is  not 
black,  but  white;  and  the  Japanese,  true  to 
hfe  even  in  death,  has  himself  buried  in  a 
sitting  2^osture. 

These  may  seem  to  be  mere  superficial  dif- 
ferences, but  they  really  indicate  a  profound 
mental  divergence  between  the  peoples  of 
the  East  and  West.  We  think  in  different 
terms,  along  different  lines,  and  reason  on 
different  principles  to  different  conclusions. 
No  American  can  ever  thoroughly  under- 
stand a  Japanese.  He  may  think,  after 
dwelling  among  them  for  a  few  weeks,  that 
he  knows  them,  but  longer  residence  cor- 
rects this  false  impression,  and  at  length  he 
is  likely  to  give  up  the  task  in  despair.  INIiss 
Scidmore  depicts  the  people  as  "  the  embodi- 
ment of  a  bewildering  variety  of  contradic- 
tions, the  attempt  of  a  race  to  enfold  in  its 
sentiments  and  customs  the  largest  amount 
of  opposing  characteristics."  We  may 
quote  the  apt  words  of  Dr.  Ladd:  "Obvi- 
ously and  traditionally  polite  to  the  verge  of 
obsequiousness,  they  appear  capable  of  the 
most  extreme  insolence.    Flinging  away  life 


JAPANESE    TRAITS 

for  trifles  in  their  readiness  to  display  a  self- 
sacrificing  courage,  they  are — when  judged 
by  Anglo-Saxon  standards — often  guilty  of 
the  most  culpable  meanness  and  cowardice. 
Having  the  most  dehcate  asthetical  sensi- 
tiveness in  certain  directions,  they  are  in 
other  directions  surprisingly  oblivious  to  all 
sense  of  proportion  and  propriety.  Out  of 
the  noblest  sentiments  and  impulses  origi- 
nate with  them  some  of  the  most  hideous  of 


crimes." 


If  there  is  one  characteristic  that  im- 
pressed me  more  than  any  other  it  is  the 
wonderful  gentleness  of  this  race.  And  yet 
the  man  w^hose  etiquette  is  as  faultless  as  a 
June  sky,  whose  gentleness  of  demeanor  is 
positively  captivating,  may  the  next  day 
perpetrate  an  atrocious  cruelty.  The  driver 
who  is  so  gentle  as  to  say  "Thatl"  to  his 
horse  instead  of  something  worse,  will  beat 
the  poor  beast  till  it  drops  in  the  road  and 
dies.  If  the  Japanese  are  gentle,  they  are 
also  cruel:  a  paradox,  but  seemingly  unques- 
tionable. 

So  it  is  that  Japan  is  a  puzzle,  and  the 
Japanese  are  puzzledom  personified.  No- 
body understands  them.  Observant  and  in- 
telhgent  men  that  have  lived  there  for  a 

229 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

score  of  years  are  most  hesitant  in  rendering 
judgment  as  to  the  true  national  characteris- 
tics. Half  of  the  missionaries  contradict  the 
other  half.  Every  little  coterie  has  its  own 
pet  theory,  which  the  next  little  coterie  de- 
rides. If  all  that  has  been  written  about 
Japan — from  the  abusive  "  North  Star  and 
Southern  Cross"  to  the  puerile  and  adula- 
tory "Japonica" — should  be  collated  and 
compared,  the  result  wovild  be  a  worse  tangle 
of  contradictions  than  the  extant  portraits 
of  Columbus. 

Therefore  I  venture  to  think  that  a  feat- 
ure of  this  book  which  critics  may  seize  upon 
and  cavil  at  is  in  fact  not  a  defect  at  all: 
I  mean  its  apparent  inconsistencies.  A  book 
that  tells  the  truth  about  Japan  has  got 
to  paint  an  inconsistent  portrait  in  order  to 
be  true  to  the  life.  The  only  device  by 
which  the  Japanese  may  be  called  in  any 
sense  consistent  is  to  say  that  they  are  "  con- 
sistently inconsistent,"  as  has  been  shrewdly 
said  of  Simon  Peter.  If,  as  Emerson  some- 
where declares,  consistency  is  the  bugbear  of 
small  minds,  then  the  Japanese  must  by  in- 
ference be  the  most  catholic-minded  people 
in  the  world.  The  present  volume,  there- 
fore, has  not  been  cut  to  fit  a  theory.      It 

230 


JAPANESE   TRAITS 

purports  to  be  a  series  of  glimpses,  caught  at 
diiFerent  times  and  from  diverse  angles,  of 
the  varied  phenomena  that  make  Japan  the 
kaleidoscope  it  is.  I  have  tried  simply  to  lay 
the  facts  before  the  reader,  and  let  him  draw 
conclusions  for  himself. 

This  is  by  way  of  qualifying  the  some- 
what ambitious  attempt  of  the  present  chap- 
ter. Here  we  lay  the  telescope  aside,  and  use 
for  a  little  while  the  microscope;  endeavor- 
ing to  probe  the  inner  character  that  makes 
the  "traits."  In  this  and  in  the  final  chap- 
ter I  have  called  to  my  assistance,  in  a  gen- 
eral sort  of  way,  the  most  discerning  critic 
that  has  ever  written  of  Oriental  charac- 
teristics from  a  Western  point  of  view:  Dr. 
Arthur  Smith,  whose  mode  of  analysis  for 
China  can  scarcely  be  improved  for  Japan. 
Without  further  ado,  then,  I  shall  plunge 
into  the  subject,  because  it  has  seemed  to 
me  that  no  book  about  Japan  could  possibly 
be  complete  that  does  not  try,  albeit  with 
confessed  incompetence,  to  lay  bare  the  in- 
ner features  that  distinguish  this  peculiar 
race  from  the  races  that  are  kin  to  us,  and 
therefore  commonplace. 


231 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

Let  us  look  first  at  the  negative  traits  of 
the  people — and  by  this  I  mean  the  emphatic 
absence  of  certain  attributes  that  to  us  seem 
fundamental  and,  indeed,  inevitable  in  a  civil- 
ized and  enlightened  nation.  The  practical 
negation  of  "morality,"  as  we  understand 
the  word,  was  emphasized  in  an  opening 
chapter;  here  we  are  dealing  in  a  somewhat 
larger  fashion,  namely,  with  psychology 
rather  than  ethics,  with  mental  traits  rather 
than  moral,  perhaps,  although  the  reader 
will  see  that  the  two  fields  touch  at  vital 
points,  after  all.  But  concrete  illustration 
will  serve  better  than  abstract  discussion. 
Take,  for  example,  the  negative  attitude  of 
the  average  Japanese  mind  towards  the  im- 
portant question  of  time.  It  would  appear 
to  be  an  attitude  of  poorly  disguised  con- 
temj)t.  One  would  think  that  the  importa- 
tion of  railways  and  telegraphs  would  have 
taught  them  that  "  Time  is  money;"  but  this 
lesson  has  yet  to  be  learned  by  the  masses. 
I  am  not  sjDcaking  now  of  those  thoroughly 
Westernized  "  Yankees  of  the  East"  that 
make  up  the  Japanese  navy,  for  example. 
The  world  has  lately  had  witness  that  they 
have  learned  the  full  value  of  time.  But  take 
the  untouched  multitudes.    No  foreigner  that 

233 


JAPANESE   TRAITS 

has  lived  in  Japan  can  ever  forget  the  ter- 
rible word,  ""Tadaivia/"  It  means,  "By- 
and-by;"  which  is  to  say,  "Never."  That 
is  the  answer  which  invariably  meets  the  ner- 
vous foreigner  as  he  seeks  to  know  when 
some  labor  in  w^hich  he  is  deeply  interested 
will  be  completed  by  the  native  workmen. 

Once  we  had  occasion  to  level  a  piece  of 
farming  ground  near  the  house ;  it  was  to  be 
beaten  down  hard  and  smooth.  We  thought 
that  an  able-bodied  man  with  a  stout  maul 
could  do  the  task  in  a  few  days.  It  speedily 
appeared,  however,  that  such  was  not  to  be. 
We  w^ere  told  that  the  work  would  not  be 
done  at  all  unless  a  dozen  men  were  engaged, 
with  a  foreman,  thirteen  in  all — unlucky 
number!  Submission  was  made  to  the  in- 
evitable. When  the  men  appeared,  their 
entire  equipment  consisted  in  a  single  maul. 
Around  the  base  of  it  were  attached  a  dozen 
rings,  to  which  a  dozen  small  ropes  were 
fastened.  The  men  stood  in  a  large  circle 
around  the  maul,  each  man  holding  a  rope. 
The  foreman,  steadying  the  handle  with  his 
hands,  would  give  a  signal,  whereupon  the 
dozen  men  would  pull  their  dozen  ropes. 
The  result  of  this  concerted  action  would  be 
to  lift  the  maul  several  feet  from  the  ground. 

233 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

Then,  at  another  signal,  the  men  would  let 
go  the  ropes,  and  the  maul  would  fall  and 
jDOund  the  patient  soil.  It  required  thirteen 
men  upwards  of  two  weeks  to  beat  down  a 
space  ninety  feet  by  fifty.  A  large  part  of 
this  time  w^as  consumed  in  drinking  tea ;  for 
it  was  a  stipulation  of  the  contract  that  un- 
limited tea  should  be  provided,  with  fire  in 
a  charcoal  brazier  wherewith  to  heat  it. 
After  every  twenty  or  thirty  strokes  of  the 
maul,  intermission  would  be  taken  for  tea. 
And  yet  even  this  ceremony  was  performed 
with  infinite  and  most  solemn  industry.  The 
typical  Oriental  is  always  working,  yet  never 
coming  to  the  end  of  his  w^ork.  He  not  only 
works  from  sun  to  sun,  but,  moreover,  his 
work  is  never  done. 

Another  negative  characteristic  of  the 
Japanese  is  their  apparent  absence  of  nerves. 
This  doubtless  accounts  to  a  large  extent  for 
the  enormous  amount  of  labor  they  are  able 
to  perform ;  for  it  is  proverbial,  wdth  us,  that 
worry  kills  more  people  than  w^ork.  I  have 
continually  seen  a  Japanese  subjected  to  the 
most  exasperating  annoyances,  which  would 
almost  drive  a  Westerner  mad;  vet  of  ner- 
vousness  there  was  never  a  trace.  He  will 
show  the  same  imperturbable  spirit  under 

234 


JAPANESE   TRAITS 

physical  suffering.  This  is  possibly  due  to 
the  age-long  influences  of  Buddhism.  But 
the  fact  is  indubitable  that  Orientals  far 
excel  us  in  stoical  indifference  to  suffering 
of  every  sort. 

The  true  Oriental  is  a  man  of  colossal  im- 
passivity. Take  him,  for  example,  when  he 
is  sick.  That  is  with  us  the  time  of  all  times 
when  we  must  be  left  unmolested.  Then, 
if  never  before,  we  demand  freedom  from 
disturbance.  But  with  an  Easterner,  the  op- 
posite is  the  case.  "  The  notification  of  an 
attack  of  illness  is  the  signal  for  all  varieties 
of  raids  upon  the  patient  from  every  quar- 
ter, in  numbers  proportioned  to  the  gravity 
of  the  disease."  And  the  patient  has  no  de- 
sire for  it  to  be  otherwise.  Our  "nervous- 
ness" is  to  the  Japanese  not  only  unaccount- 
able, but  quite  unreasonable.  In  fact,  they 
consider  this  as  a  very  serious  moral  defect 
in  the  character  of  Anglo-Saxons. 

To  us,  their  absence  of  nerves  may  not 
seem  to  be  a  defect,  but  it  most  certainly  is 
incomprehensible.  In  the  steamship  that 
brought  us  home,  one  of  the  crew  was  at- 
tacked with  smallpox, — a  scourge  from 
which  Japan  and  China  are  never  free.  The 
man  was  immediately  isolated,  and  it  became 

235 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

necessary  to  call  for  a  volunteer  to  nurse 
him.  To  the  astonishment  of  the  officers  of 
the  vessel,  there  was  a  mad  scramble  among 
the  crew  for  this  position;  not  out  of  sym- 
pathy for  the  patient,  but  because  the  posi- 
tion of  nurse  offered  the  opportunity  of  a 
holiday  without  reduction  of  wages.  They 
were  not  nervous  about  the  disease  in  the 
least;  whereas  the  cabin  passengers  were  in 
mortal  terror  of  it. 

The  Japanese  seem  also  to  be  strangely 
lacking  in  sympathy.  This  is  to  be  expected, 
indeed,  as  an  accompaniment  of  the  absence 
of  "nerves,"  for  the  sensitive  are  the  most 
sympathetic.  Count  Mori,  one  of  the 
greatest  of  Japanese  educators,  clearly  rec- 
ognized this  defect.  "  Sympathy  we  must 
inculcate,"  he  declared,  "because  it  is  the 
crowning  virtue  of  civilization,  and  the  indis- 
pensable basis  of  the  democracy  we  hope, 
like  other  nations,  to  become.  Without  sym- 
pathy the  best  man  is  but  a  savage."  This 
lack  of  sympathy  often  amounts,  in  fact,  to 
positive  cruelty.  Especially  is  this  seen  in 
the  manner  with  which  defectives  are 
treated.  If  a  man  has  some  conspicuous 
physical  defect,  it  may  be  made  the  subject 
of  continual  and  jeering  remarks,  among 

236 


The  Blind  Shampooer 


JAPANESE   TRAITS 

the  very  classes  who  pride  themselves  on 
their  politeness.  There  are  few,  if  any, 
asylums  for  the  blind  or  the  insane.  The 
blind  Japanese  have  a  tacit  monopoly  of  the 
business  of  massage,  and  the  doleful  piping 
signal  of  the  blind  shampooer  remains  in 
the  traveller's  memory  as  perhaps  the  most 
characteristic  of  all  the  multifold  street 
sounds.  As  for  the  insane,  I  have  known 
them  to  be  shut  up  in  pens  a  dozen  feet 
square  and  treated  like  wild  beasts  until 
death  ended  their  sufferings.  Terrible  de- 
vastations, like  the  tidal  wave  which  in  1896 
swept  thousands  into  the  sea  and  left  other 
thousands  homeless,  are  treated  by  the  aver- 
age Japanese,  unless  directly  concerned, 
with  complete  and  contemptuous  indiffer- 
ence. 

Speaking  of  this  apparent  absence  of 
sympathy,  I  shall  never  forget  my  first  ex- 
perience of  a  Japanese  funeral,  and  a  Chris- 
tian funeral,  at  that.  Here  is  a  letter,  writ- 
ten home  the  same  day,  when  my  mind  was 
awhirl  with  vexed  thoughts: 

"  To-day  I  attended  a  Japanese  Christian 
funeral.  The  two-year-old  child  of  one  of 
the  few  believers  in  this  big  city  died  yes- 
terday, and  this  afternoon  I  left  my  Bible- 

237 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

class  in  order  to  express  sympathy  with  the 
bereaved  family.  Upon  reaching  the  hum- 
ble home,  I  found  a  large  company  of 
friends  and  relatives  already  assembled, 
seated  on  the  floor  in  the  main  room,  peace- 
fully partaking  of  a  feast.  After  bowing 
myself  double  several  times,  and  speaking  a 
few  words  of  sympathy  to  the  father  and 
mother,  I  was  set  in  the  place  of  honor,  and 
presented  with  some  confections  and  '  honor- 
able tea.'  The  tea,  unsugared,  in  its  dainty 
little  cup,  was  drunk ;  the  unspeakable  sweet- 
meats, after  a  nibble,  were  wrapped  in  a 
paper  and  brought  away  with  me,  according 
to  Oriental  custom.  The  food  is  so  delicious, 
and  the  supply  so  superabundant,  that  one  is 
constrained  to  add  to  one's  own  store  bv 
toting  the  surplus  home:  that  is  the  idea. 
But  let  me  tell  you  about  the  funeral.  The 
corpse  was  in  a  small  wooden  box,  which  was 
covered  with  a  bright  blue  cloth  bespangled 
with  gilt  leaves.  The  whole  was  placed  in  the 
raised  recess  built  in  every  house  as  a  place 
of  honor ;  in  front  of  it  stood  two  plain  bam- 
boo vases  filled  with  evergreen  and  scarlet 
berries.  After  the  guests,  seated  flat  around 
the  sides  of  the  room,  had  remained  long 
enough  to  testify  their  interest,   they  all 

238 


JAPANESE   TRAITS 

wrapped  up  their  food  and  prepared  to  form 
in  procession.  First,  two  boys  lifted  aloft 
two  long,  white  banners,  mounted  on  bamboo 
supports,  and  marched  at  the  front.  On  one 
of  these  banners  were  inscribed  the  words 
of  1  Thes.  iv.  17;  I  could  not  distinguish  the 
other  inscription.  Next  after  them  came  a 
man  with  a  red  banner  of  the  same  pattern, 
bearing  the  child's  name  in  ideographs.  He 
was  followed  by  two  boys  carrying  the  vases 
of  evergreen  and  berries  that  had  been  in 
front  of  the  place  of  honor;  on  the  coffin 
itself,  which  came  immediately  after  these 
boys,  were  placed  crosses  of  cedar  and  red 
berries.  I  should  not  omit  to  say  that  the 
two  white  banners  had  crosses  painted  on 
them  at  the  extreme  top.  By  the  side  of  the 
coffin  walked  the  friend  that  had  charge  for 
the  day;  following  him  was  the  father,  and 
behind  were  the  masculine  friends  of  the 
family,  the  women  bringing  up  the  rear.  At 
the  church,  there  was  what  might  be  called 
a  service  of  song  and  prayer,  though  the 
presence  of  a  noisy,  giggling  mob  of  curious 
loafers  at  the  door  made  it  seem  awfully  like 
burlesque.  Nor  was  the  levity  confined  to 
the  onlookers.  Among  the  nearest  friends 
of  the  family  there  was  frequent  laughter, 

239 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

and  more  than  once  during  the  service  words 
were  exchanged  all  the  way  across  the  room. 
The  procession  itself,  if  you  speak  of  solem- 
nity, was  more  like  a  political  demonstration 
in  its  appearance  than  a  march  to  the  grave. 
"Far  be  it  from  me  to  write  thus  in  a 
spirit  of  harsh  criticism;  I  only  design  to 
show  the  inexplicable  character  of  the  people 
among  whom  I  labor.  One  could  not  fail  to 
be  struck  by  what  was  more  than  absence  of 
sorrowful  emotion  at  this  funeral;  and  yet 
this  does  by  no  means  betoken  absence  of 
real  grief  on  the  part  of  the  poor  father  and 
mother.  What  it  does  show  is  the  contra- 
riety of  Japanese  character — or  shall  I  say 
customs? — to  ours  in  the  West.  May  it  not 
be  that  the  stoical  Easterner  conceals  his 
emotion  because  he  has  been  schooled  to  do 
so,  while  the  European,  encouraged  by  a 
knowledge  of  what  is  customary,  yields  to 
grief  more  demonstrative,  yet  perhaps  not 
more  sincere  than  that  of  his  strange  neigh- 
bor? Else  is  it  that  the  failure  on  the  part  of 
the  Japanese  to  recognize  the  existence  of  a 
true  personality  in  each  human  being,  and  a 
consequent  failure  to  set  a  high  value  on  life 
— is  it  possible  that  such  facts  explain  what 
to  the  Westerner  seems  an  anomaly?     At 

240 


JAPANESE   TRAITS 

any  rate,  we  are  antipodes.  The  servant 
that  cries  if  you  scold  him  a  Httle,  will  laugh 
on  the  way  to  the  funeral  of  his  dearest 
friend.  He  may  become  fiercely  angered 
over  a  trifle,  and  remain  perfectly  calm  when 
a  foreigner  would  be  excited.  If  you  tell 
him  he  is  a  fool  he  will  desire  to  knock  you 
down,  but  you  may  call  him  a  liar  with  im- 
punity. He  is  at  once  both  cruel  and  gentle, 
gross  and  refined,  stupid  and  keen-witted. 
Mr.  Spencer  would  be  tempted  to  call  him  a 
continuous  series  of  contradictory  sensa- 
tions." 

But  the  most  serious  negative  characteris- 
tic of  this  interesting  Oriental  race  is  the 
absence  of  mutual  confidence.  It  is  almost 
to  be  doubted  whether  any  Japanese  ever 
really  trusts  another,  in  our  meaning  of  that 
term.  With  us  there  is  a  wholesome  adage 
which  bids  us  believe  every  man  to  be  a  gen- 
tleman until  he  proves  himself  otherwise. 
But  our  Eastern  neighbors  appear  to  sus- 
pect from  the  beginning  that  no  man  is  a 
thorough  gentleman,  and  proof  must  be 
strong,  indeed,  to  convince  them  of  the  con- 
trary. Often,  in  Japan,  I  have  seen  lines  of 
men,  with  faces  covered,  conducted  from 
the  prison  to  their  trial.    They  wore  a  pecu- 

16  241 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

liar  uniform  which  betokened  that  they  had 
been  merely  accused, — not  convicted,  or  even 
tried.  And  j^et  they  were  imprisoned.  Old 
Japanese  law,  the  very  opposite  of  ours, 
assumes  a  man  to  be  guilty  until  he  is  proved 
innocent.  The  only  mercy  it  shows  him  is 
to  allow  him  to  hide  his  face  from  public 
shame  Avhen  led  to  and  from  the  prison  for 
his  trial. 

This  mutual  suspicion  taints  every  feature 
of  life  in  the  East.  It  is,  of  course,  a  vast 
hindrance  to  commercial  development,  for 
Western  business  methods  are  based  upon 
confidence.  It  is  a  sad  proof,  too,  of  the  in- 
sincerity of  the  Oriental  character ;  for  men 
sus2:)ect  others  chiefly  because  they  mistrust 
themselves.  A  foreign  teacher,  long  resi- 
dent in  Japan,  was  once  asked  to  name  the 
leading  characteristics  of  the  people.  His 
reply  was,  "  Conceit  and  deceit."  An  emi- 
nent Japanese  also  used  "alliteration's  art- 
ful aid"  against  his  countrymen  when  he 
charged  them  with  wholesale  "  licentiousness 
and  lying."  The  generalization  is  in  each 
case  too  sweeping;  and  j^et  the  absence  of 
sincerity  is  unquestionably  a  Japanese  char- 
acteristic. Accuse  a  man  of  a  lie,  and  he 
smiles   over   the   tribute   to   his   cleverness. 

24,2 


JAPANESE   TRAITS 

As  Dr.  Smith  points  out,  it  is  no  more  of 
an  insult  than  it  would  be  to  say  to  an 
American,  "  You  are  an  inveterate  punster, 
and  I  am  satisfied  you  have  some  atrocious 
pun  in  your  head  at  this  moment." 

The  most  massive  and  monumental  false- 
hood that  ever  fell  to  my  portion  was 
achieved  by  a  grocer  in  Saga.  By  a  lucky 
chance,  as  I  thought,  he  was  supplied  at  the 
time — so  he  said — with  the  "  Golden  Gate" 
brand  of  imported  flour,  very  dear  to  the 
palate  of  the  alien.  To  convince  me  that 
he  was  telling  the  truth,  he  brought  forth 
an  empty  white  bag,  stamped  in  large  Eng- 
lish letters  with  the  magical  Western  words. 
Well  pleased  that  we  should  not  need  to 
send  all  the  way  to  Nagasaki  for  flour,  I 
ordered  a  bag  sent  home.  An  hour  or  so 
later,  noting  that  the  coolie  w^ho  fetched 
it  was  so  extraordinarily  obliging  as  to 
carry  his  burden  all  the  w^ay  into  the  pan- 
try, instead  of  dropping  it  with  a  groan 
at  the  entry,  my  suspicions  became  aroused, 
and  the  more  so  as  I  observed  that  he  care- 
fully set  it  down  with  the  label  side  turned 
towards  the  wall.  Heaving  the  bag  face 
forwards,  I  was  confronted  with  the  tame 
and   tasteless   trade-mark   of   the    "  Naga- 

243 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

saki  Rolling  JNIills."  The  coolie  insisted, 
however,  that  I  was  most  honorably  mis- 
taken. Knowing  that  he  could  not  read 
English,  and  was  perhaps  deceived  by  his 
employer,  I  requested  that  the  merchant  him- 
self come  to  see  me.  In  a  little  while  he  ap- 
peared, smiling  and  patient,  the  empty 
"  Golden  Gate"  bag  under  his  arm  for  pur- 
poses of  identification.  Its  label  was  printed 
in  one  color,  and  that  of  the  domestic  flour  in 
another.  And  there  stood  the  two  diverse 
legends:  "Golden  Gate  Flour"  on  the 
empty  bag,  "Nagasaki  Rolling  Mills"  on 
the  other  bag.  Yet  that  bronzed  and  brazen 
master  of  his  art  stood  there,  smiling  and 
patient,  and  insisting  with  unruffled  suavity 
that  the  two  bags  were  one  and  the  same. 
I  almost  fainted ;  and  I  kept  the  flour.  Such 
mastery  was  not  to  be  withstood. 

The  Japanese  and  Chinese  languages — 
those  sure  indexes  of  a  national  character — 
are  permeated  with  insincerity  as  a  loaf  with 
insincere  leaven.  The  polite  Oriental  will 
allude  to  his  wife,  if  driven  to  the  shameful 
extremity  of  speaking  of  her  at  all,  as  liis 
"  stupid  fool,"  while  characterizing  your  own 
conjugal  companion  as  "the  Honorable 
Lady  who  dwells  in  the  most  honorable  part 

244, 


JAPANESE    TRAITS 

of  the  dwelling," — whereas  it  is  reasonably 
certain  that  he  really  entertains  for  this 
much  complimented  person  the  most  pro- 
found, unutterable  contempt. 

Dr.  Smith  cites  an  extreme  and  laughable 
instance  to  illustrate  the  pervasiveness  of 
honorific  lying  in  the  Chinese  and  Japanese 
languages.  This  incident  is  to  me  so  posi- 
tively delicious  that  I  must  be  pardoned  for 
purloining  it  bodily  from  his  charming  and 
illuminating  pages.  A  visitor  is  represented 
as  calling,  clad  in  his  best  robes,  and  seated 
in  the  reception-room  awaiting  the  arrival  of 
his  host.  "  A  rat,  which  had  been  disporting 
itself  upon  the  beams  above,  insinuating  its 
nose  into  a  jar  of  oil  which  was  put  there 
for  safe-keeping,  frightened  at  the  sudden 
intrusion  of  the  caller,  ran  away,  and  in  so 
doing  upset  the  oil- jar,  which  fell  directly 
on  the  caller,  striking  him  a  severe  blow,  and 
ruining  his  elegant  garments  with  the  satu- 
ration of  the  oil.  Just  as  the  face  of  the 
guest  w^as  purple  with  rage  at  this  disaster, 
the  host  entered,  when  the  proper  salutations 
were  performed,  after  which  the  guest  pro- 
ceeded to  explain  the  situation.  'As  I  en- 
tered your  honorable  apartment  and  seated 
myself  under  your  honorable  beam,  I  inad- 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

vertently  terrified  your  honorable  rat,  which 
fled  and  upset  your  honorable  oil- jar  upon 
my  mean  and  insignificant  clothing,  which  is 
the  reason  of  my  contemptible  appearance  in 
your  honorable  presence.' 


>  J5 


So  much  to  illustrate  the  more  prominent 
negative  traits  that  challenge  the  attention 
of  Westerners.  But  it  would  be  utterly  un- 
fair not  to  mention,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
positive  traits  of  Oriental  character,  by 
which  I  mean  their  strong  accentuation  of 
valuable  habits  of  character  that  we  possess 
in  only  a  moderate  degree.  These  positive 
characteristics,  it  will  assuredly  be  noted,  are 
of  the  highest  ethical  importance,  and  must 
of  necessity  play  an  important  part  in  the 
future  influence  of  the  Far  East  in  deter- 
mining what  races  shall  rule  the  world. 
Take,  for  example,  the  important  question 
of  economy.  We  simply  do  not  know  the 
meaning  of  the  word.  A  Japanese  can  live 
and  lay  by  a  surplus  where  a  Westerner 
w^ould  starve  a  dozen  times  over.  Having 
occasion  once  to  inquire  as  to  the  usual  wages 
paid  to  maid-servants  in  the  interior,  I 
learned  that  it  consisted  in  board  and  clothing 


JAPANESE   TRAITS 

of  the  simplest  and  cheapest,  and  the  munifi- 
cent salary  of  three  dollars  and  a  half  a  year! 
Again,  upon  asking  an  intelligent  laboring 
man  the  cost  of  supporting  himself,  his  wife, 
and  four  children  in  ordinary  comfort,  I  was 
informed  that  seven  and  a  half  cents  a  day 
would  cover  all  expenses.  As  Dr.  Smith 
has  pointed  out,  Orientals  remember  to  be 
economical  even  when  they  are  most  gener- 
ous. For  example,  a  frequent  gift  consists 
in  a  complimentary  couplet  written  on  paper, 
which  is  loosely  basted — not  pasted — on  a 
silk  background,  in  order  that  the  recipient 
may  first  enjoy  the  poetry  of  the  present, 
and  afterwards  its  plain  and  practical  prose ; 
when,  by  removing  the  basted  inscription,  he 
finds  himself  the  possessor  of  a  serviceable 
patch  of  silk ! 

We  may  also  emphasize  the  fact  that 
politeness  is  an  unknown  art  in  the  West. 
It  is  quite  impossible  for  any  Occidental,  no 
matter  how  long  he  lives  in  Japan,  ever  to 
acquire  that  infinite  finesse  in  etiquette  which 
to  the  natives  seems  to  come  even  as  the  air 
they  breathe — most  free  and  plenteous. 
From  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  there  is  a  rule 
for  every  possible  experience  in  life,  which  is 
as  fixed  and  inflexible  as  brass.    Woe  to  the 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

ignorant  alien  who  does  not  understand  it! 
An  American  lady,  living  in  China,  had  re- 
cently been  married.  She  did  not  know  that 
in  receiving  the  felicitations  of  her  callers 
the  bride  ought  to  sit  at  the  north  end  of  the 
room.  The  callers,  however,  knew  it  very 
well ;  and,  exactly  true  to  the  letter  of  polite- 
ness, if  not  to  its  spirit,  the  first  ladies  to  call 
duly  made  their  obeisances  towards  the 
northern  end  of  the  room,  although  the 
astounded  bride  was  sitting  at  the  south  end. 
Was  it  thei?'  fault  that  she  did  not  know 
where  to  sit?  The  demands  of  true  polite- 
ness must  be  obeyed,  despite  the  foolish 
ignorance  of  the  despised  barbarian. 

My  own  most  impressive  lesson  in  the  art 
of  Oriental  politeness  occurred  in  an  early 
pecuniary  transaction.  Upon  asking  a  Jap- 
anese merchant  the  price  of  some  fancy 
shells,  he  told  me  they  were  ten  cents  each. 

"  Now,"  I  said  to  him,  "  you  have  just  fif- 
teen of  them  left,  and  I  need  them  all.  So 
what  will  be  the  price  if  I  take  the  entire 
lot?" 

After  elaborate  figuring  on  the  ever  pres- 
ent abacus,  he  replied  that  the  fifteen  would 
cost  one  dollar  and  seventy-five  cents. 
Thinking  that  my  friend  the  merchant  had 

248 


JAPANESE   TRAITS 

made  a  mistake,  or  that  his  abacus  was  out  of 
order,  I  confidently  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  since  all  of  the  articles  were  being 
purchased,  there  should  rather  be  a  reduction 
in  the  price  than  an  increase. 

"  Not  at  all,"  he  replied,  with  a  pitying 
smile.  "  I  sell  you  my  entire  stock  of  shells. 
Then,  when  some  other  customer  comes  to 
buy,  I,  forsooth,  am  out.  And  that  will  be 
impolitely  inconvenient  to  him.  Hence,  the 
extra  charge  is  for  my  prevenient  impolite- 
ness!"— or  words  to  that  effect. 

Another  positive  quality  of  the  Oriental 
character  is  their  untiring  industry.  No 
one  can  lodge  at  an  Eastern  inn  without  re- 
ceiving the  impression  that  the  taverner  and 
his  help  never  go  to  bed.  All  night  long  the 
sleepless  sounds  of  labor  are  rampant  and 
furious.  This  habit  of  ceaseless  occupation 
often  extends  to  the  very  highest  classes.  A 
member  of  the  Chinese  cabinet  being  asked 
for  an  account  of  his  daily  routine,  replied 
that  he  left  home  every  morning  at  two 
o'clock,  as  he  was  on  duty  at  the  palace  from 
three  to  six;  and,  being  a  member  of  the 
Privy  Council,  that  he  was  engaged  in  that 
august  assemblage  from  six  to  nine.  As 
president  of  the  war  department,  his  duties 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

kept  him  there  from  nine  until  eleven ;  while 
the  affairs  of  the  board  of  punishment  en- 
gaged his  attention  from  twelve  till  two. 
Finally,  being  a  senior  minister  of  the  for- 
eign office,  he  spent  a  part  of  every  after- 
noon— namely,  from  two  o'clock  until  six 
— with  his  colleagues  there.  But  these  were 
merely  his  regular  duties.  In  addition  to 
these  matters  of  daily  routine,  he  was  fre- 
quently appointed  to  serve  on  special  boards 
or  committees,  and  these  he  arranged  for  as 
best  he  could.  Surely,  as  the  narrator  wit- 
tily observes,  if  Solomon  was  right  in  his 
economic  maxim  that  the  hand  of  the  dili- 
gent maketh  rich,  then  the  Chinese  ought  to 
be  among  the  most  prosperous  peoples  of  the 
earth.  "And  so  they  doubtless  would  be,  if 
there  were  with  them  a  balance  of  virtues, 
instead  of  a  conspicuous  absence  of  some  of 
those  fundamental  qualities  which,  however 
they  may  be  enumerated  as  *  constant  vir- 
tues,' are  chiefly  constant  by  their  absence." 


Now,  in  all  of  these  matters  the  Chinese 
and  the  Japanese  partake  of  common  char- 
acteristics. And  yet,  just  as  they  are  facially 
alike,  but  racially  distinct,  so  when  one  leaves 

250 


JAPANESE   TRAITS 

the  mere  characteristics  of  the  people,  and 
digs  down  to  the  bed-rock  of  character  itself, 
there  is  a  radical  and  fundamental  diver- 
gence. Every  one  knows,  for  example,  that 
the  Japanese  has  proved  himself  to  be  one 
of  the  most  progressive  beings  on  the  face  of 
the  earth,  while  China  is  conservatism  per- 
sonified. Moreover,  even  a  superficial 
observer  speedily  discerns — what  is  un- 
doubtedly true — that  the  Japanese  intellect 
is  alert  and  quickly  perceptive ;  and  he  thinks 
that  he  perceives  that  the  Chinaman  is 
densely  and  incorrigibly  stupid.  A  study  of 
the  histories  of  these  two  peoples  will,  how- 
ever, reveal  the  undoubted  fact  that  the  Chi- 
nese have  been  great  originators,  whereas  the 
Japanese,  clever  imitators  as  they  are,  have 
never  created  anything,  with  the  possible  ex- 
ception of  the  field  of  the  fine  arts.  The 
ancient  civilization  of  Japan  was  borrowed 
whole  from  China,  her  modern  civilization  is 
borrowed  whole  from  the  West.  True,  they 
"  adapt"  things,  by  some  trifling  change,  and 
make  them  peculiarly  Japanese ;  but  if  they 
have  ever  created  anything  outright,  it  has 
not  been  shown.  They  scarcely  have  a  litera- 
ture worthy  of  the  name,  while  Chinese 
literature  has  both  depth  and  breadth.    They 

251 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

have  produced  no  great  intellectual  or  moral 
leader  of  the  world;  whereas  China  has  the 
proud  distinction  of  claiming  both  Confu- 
cius and  Mencius.  The  Japanese  language 
must  go  for  strength  and  massiveness  to  the 
Chinese, — being  in  itself  frivolous,  almost 
childish.  JNIr.  Kipling,  in  fact,  says  that  a 
Chinaman  moving  in  a  Japanese  crowd  is 
like  a  man  moving  among  children;  and 
Kipling  has  w^on  the  right  to  be  deemed  one 
of  the  keenest  observers,  with  his  fine  photo- 
graphic eye,  that  has  ever  contributed  to 
English  literature.  Yet,  forsooth,  he  likes 
the  Japanese,  just  as  we  do,  far  better  than 
the  Chinese.  In  his  naive,  suggestive  way, 
he  says  of  a  Japanese  city  where  many  Chi- 
nese reside, — 

"  The  town  was  full  of  children,  and  every 
one  smiled  except  the  Chinamen.  I  do  not 
like  Chinamen.  There  was  something  in 
their  faces  which  I  could  not  understand, 
though  it  was  familiar  enough.  They  had 
no  kinship  with  the  crowd,  beyond  that 
which  a  man  has  to  children." 

Yes,  we  like  the  children  better,  but  we 
stand  in  awe  of  a  man.  And  in  a  Chinese 
face,  of  all  human  faces,  there  is  something 
suggestive  of  a  hidden  wisdom  and  power 

252 


JAPANESE   TRAITS 

which  is  altogether  weird,  and  almost  terri- 
fying. 

It  is  always  unsafe  to  generalize,  and  yet 
I  will  venture  to  say  that  the  chief  cause  of 
the  marked  distinction  between  the  Chinese 
and  the  Japanese,  notwithstanding  their 
many  points  of  likeness,  lies  in  the  fact  that 
the  former  have  a  stronger  ethical  basis  than 
their  little  neighbors,  whereas,  in  the  Japan- 
ese, the  aesthetic  predominates.  The  Japan- 
ese cares  everything  for  beauty,  the  China- 
man cares  very  little  for  it.  The  Japanese 
laugh  more  than  any  other  people  in  the 
world,  the  Chinaman  scarcely  ever  smiles. 
The  Japanese  is  quick  to  receive,  the  China- 
man is  tenacious  to  retain.  The  Japanese  is 
fickle,  volatile,  bright;  his  sombre  kinsman 
is  slow,  but  stable.  The  Japanese  is  shrewd, 
the  Chinaman  is  deep.  The  keynote  to  the 
Japanese  character  is  sentimentalism — that 
of  the  Chinese  character  is  conservatism. 
The  Japanese  is  a  Frenchman,  the  China- 
man is  an  Englishman  or  a  German.  It  is 
precisely  the  difference  between  the  Gaul 
and  the  Teuton.  The  Gaul  has  his  points  of 
superiority.  He  is  the  more  artistic,  the 
more  brilliant,  the  more  polished,  altogether 
the  more  attractive,  let  us  say.    But  the  Teu- 

253 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

ton,  while  he  is  phlegmatic,  and  unmagnetic, 
nevertheless  moves  slowly  but  steadily,  with 
dogged  persistence,  towards  some  predeter- 
mined goal;  and  when  he  arrives,  let  the 
world  take  heed ! 

What  has  Japan  done  for  the  world  ?  She 
has  astonished  and  delighted  it,  and  rejoiced 
with  keen  relish  in  her  own  performances. 
But  what  has  China  done  ?  China,  not  caring 
what  the  world  thought  of  her  at  all,  has  pos- 
sibly accomplished  more  than  any  other  na- 
tion in  history.  I  need  only  mention  the 
three  supreme  contributions  of  Printing,  the 
Mariner's  Compass,  and  Gunpowder;  in- 
ventions which  have  probably  influenced  the 
world's  history  more  than  all  other  inven- 
tions combined, — at  least  since  the  days  when 
the  wheel  and  the  hinge  were  born, — and 
they  all  three  came  from  China.  True,  for 
the  last  several  centuries  this  immense  em- 
pire has  been  living  in  the  splendid  achieve- 
ments of  its  mighty  past.  But  be  sure  the 
gigantic  brain  has  not  been  idle,  even  in  its 
dreams ;  and  when,  once  more,  the  huge  inert 
body  awakens  to  action — let  the  world  take 
heedl 


254 


X 

AN   OPENER   OF   GATES 


^  The  Personality  of  G.  F.  Ver- 
beck — His  Life  Story  the  His- 
tory of  Modern  Japan — The 
Need  for  Men  to  Succeed  Him 


X 

An  Opener  of  Gates 

When  word  came  in  1898  that  the 
greatest  of  modern  missionaries  had  passed 
away,  the  writer  sent  the  following  outline 
sketch  of  this  great  man  to  the  New  York 
Independent : 

"  The  Independent  does  simple  justice  in 
setting  the  name  of  Guido  F.  Verbeck  beside 
the  names  of  Ulfilas,  Augustine,  and  St. 
Patrick.  I  do  not  believe  that  a  single 
Protestant  missionary  in  Japan  would  dis- 
sent from  this  warm  judgment. 

"  The  WTiter  of  this  article  went  to  Japan 
in  1892,  young  and  untried,  as  the  pioneer 
of  the  American  Lutheran  mission.  His 
board  counselled:  When  in  need  of  advice, 
consult  men  like  Verbeck.  I  was  often  in 
need  of  advice;  and  he  never  failed  in  wise 
and  cheerful  aid,  given  with  no  slightest 
tinge  of  patronage,  with  no  sign  of  conde- 
scension to  a  man  of  low  estate,  but  rather  as 
though  he  were  the  one  that  was  favored. 
He  made  me  feel  at  home  by  saying  that 

17  257 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

he  had  heen  catechized  and  confirmed  a 
Lutheran,  his  uncle  having  heen  one  of  our 
pastors  in  Holland. 

"He  helieved  that  the  plan  of  work 
should  be  to  plant  missionaries  at  intervals, 
near  enough  together  that  the  intervening 
space  would  come  up  with  Christian  growth, 
and  so  the  whole  field  be  fruitful,  rather 
than  a  single  hill.  For  it  is  possible  to  overdo 
a  policy  of  '  concentration'  with  missionaries, 
as  with  seeds.  When  I  asked  him  what  was 
the  most  important  thing  for  our  mission  to 
do  at  first,  he  said:  '  Get  three  men,  so  you 
can  vote.'  There  is  a  deal  of  hard  sense  in 
that  simple  counsel. 

"  It  may  be  worth  while  to  record  his  judg- 
ment concerning  the  mooted  question  as  to 
whether  more  missionaries  are  needed.  As 
we  walked  one  day  by  the  lakeside  at  Ha- 
kone,  he  said,  with  emphasis:  'You  may 
write  to  your  people  at  home  that,  no  matter 
how  others  may  talk,  I  will  undertake  to 
name  a  hundred  unoccupied  points  in  Japan 
where  missionaries  could  be  placed  to  ad- 
vantage.' 

"The  two  things  which  most  impressed 
me  in  this  great  man  were  his  modesty  and 
his  wisdom ;  and  by  wisdom  I  mean  wisdom. 

258 


VERBECK 

He  was  a  man  to  lean  on ;  and  he  had  knowl- 
edge as  well  as  wisdom.  To  touch  one  point 
alone,  there  was  no  finer  linguist  in  the  Far 
East.  Higher  compliment  could  not  be  paid 
to  his  ability  in  Japanese  than  once  fell  to  my 
hearing.  A  native  teacher  who  heard  him 
lecture  in  Saga  said :  '  He  knows  more  of  the 
language  than  I  do.'  This  is  significant, 
when  we  remember  two  things :  the  extreme 
intricacy  and  difficulty  of  Japanese,  which 
led  Xavier  to  call  it  the  Devil's  invention, 
and  the  chauvinistic  conceit  of  the  teacher. 

"His  humor  was  keen,  sometimes  to  the 
point  of  cutting.  After  he  had  been  in 
Japan  some  thirty  years,  one  day  he  walked 
the  platform  at  a  country  station,  waiting 
for  the  train.  A  kilted,  bare-legged  student 
eyed  him  for  a  time,  then  concluded  he  would 
patronize  this  innocent  alien  and  air  his  Eng- 
lish. With  that  superb  assurance  which  is 
the  unfailing  endowment  of  Japanese 
schoolboys,  this  eighteen-year-old  colt  swag- 
gered near  and  shouted:  'When  do  you 
came  to  our  country?'  Dr.  Verbeck  ad- 
justed his  benevolent  spectacles,  and,  after 
a  calm  survey,  responded,  in  choice  vernacu- 
lar: *A  few  years  before  you  did,  sir.'  It 
is  said  that  the  student  retired. 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

"  I  have  in  my  hand  his  valuable  pamphlet 
on  the  study  of  the  language.  He  has  been 
advising  against  the  overuse,  in  sermons,  of 
purely  Chinese  words,  which  are  to  native 
idioms  as  Johnsonese  compounds  to  English. 
But  a  shrewd  sense  of  humor  prompts  him 
to  add: 

"  '  To  the  caution  of  being  sparing  In  the  use 
of  Chinese  words,  I  would  make  one  occasional  ex- 
ception. When  you  perceive  among  your  audience 
a  few  regular  pedants,  put  in,  at  or  near  the  be- 
ginning of  your  discourse,  a  dozen  or  so  of  hard 
Chinese  compounds,  such  as  the  greatest  pedant 
among  them  cannot  possibly  make  out, — it  is  the 
easiest  thing  to  be  done, — and  you  will  probably 
find  these  very  men  your  most  attentive  listeners  to 
the  end,  although  in  the  rest  of  your  discourse  there 
may  be  a  minimum  of  Chinese.  Simply  showing 
such  men  at  the  start  that  you  are  not  unacquainted 
with  the  trick  they  themselves  continually  use  to 
mystify  and  astonish  their  hearers  will  usually 
make  them  docile  to  the  end  of  your  chapter.' 

"He  was  a  man  without  a  country. 
Leaving  Holland  when  young,  he  was  never 
naturalized  in  America,  nor  yet  in  Japan; 
although  the  latter  country  gave  him  the 
unique  privilege  of  a  perpetual  passport  for 

260 


VERBECK 

the  whole  Empire,  which  even  the  bitterest 
agitators  of  the  '  Know-nothing'  party  never 
begrudged  him. 

"  When  all  is  said,  his  life  is  best  summed 
up  in  the  words :  '  I  determined  not  to  know 
anything  among  you,  save  Jesus  Christ,  and 
Him  crucified.'  Untiring  consecration  to  his 
JNIaster's  work  ruled  in  all  he  did.  His  first 
pleasure  w^as  preaching,  for  which  he  had 
talents  that  would  have  made  him  notable  in 
any  land.  I  should  say  that  his  chief  powers 
were  the  graphic  vividness  with  which  he 
could  portray  a  scene,  being  richly  gifted  in 
voice  and  gesture;  then  the  resistless  logic 
with  which  he  forced  truth  home.  His 
sermons  abounded  in  illustrations,  and 
were  the  delight  of  Japanese  audiences. 
Wherever  he  went,  the  people  came  in 
crowds  to  see  and  hear. 

"Without  him,  Japan  w^ill  not  seem  like 
itself.  Because  of  him,  Japan  will  grow 
less  like  itself,  and  more  like  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven." 


When  I  call  Verbeck  the  greatest  of 
modern  missionaries  I  have  especially  in 
mind  the  untold  results  of  his  labors.     In 

261 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

learning,  length  of  service,  and  devotion,  he 
ranks  with  such  men  as  INIofFat  and  Paton, 
but  the  superlative  degree  is  applicable  in 
view  of  the  influence  Verbeck  had  in  shaping 
New  Japan,  which  may  in  turn  shape  Asia. 
Until  Dr.  William  Elliot  Griffis  published 
his  compendious  volume,  entitled  "Verbeck 
of  Japan,"  the  w^orld  had  little  knowledge  of 
the  tremendous  power  wielded  by  this  modest 
missionary,  who  frequently  insisted,  when 
asked  for  items  for  the  press,  that  he  pre- 
ferred to  "  work  in  silence."  Indeed,  condi- 
tions in  Japan  were  such  that  he  could  not 
have  accomplished  w^hat  he  did  in  any  other 
way.  The  Japanese  are  a  peculiarly  proud 
and  sensitive  folk,  and  they  submitted  to  this 
man  so  largely  only  because  they  learned 
that  his  wise  self-eiFacement  made  him  will- 
ing ahvays  to  let  honor  go  to  them  when  it 
was  really  due  to  him;  as,  for  example,  in 
the  notable  case  of  the  great  Japanese  em- 
bassy of  1871,  which  first  brought  Japan  to 
the  focal  centre  of  the  world's  attention, 
being  in  reality  conceived,  planned,  and  di- 
rected by  this  humble,  unknow^n  servant  of 
Him  who  was  pleased  to  be  Servant  of  all. 
Because  the  life  of  Guido  Verbeck  is 
essential  to  an  understanding  of  the  forces 

Q62 


Xfi 

o 
<t> 

3 

a 

fa 
-< 

z 

p 

00 


<•-. 


VERBECK 

that  have  made  the  new  Japan, — because,  in 
fact,  to  tell  the  fascinating  story  of  his 
forty-five  years  of  service  is  to  tell  the  story 
of  the  Japan  of  To-Day,  it  is  needful  that  a 
chapter  be  consecrated  to  his  noble  memory 
in  this  book. 


The  reader  is  already  somewhat  familiar 
with  the  old  Southern  city  of  Saga.  A 
nobleman  of  this  tow^n  was  destined  to  inter- 
lock his  life  with  that  of  a  youth  across  the 
seas,  through  circumstances  the  most  re- 
markable and  romantic,  and  to  become  at 
last,  by  his  patient  endeavors,  the  first  nota- 
ble convert  to  Protestant  missionary  effort 
in  Japan. 

Being  on  military  duty  in  the  neighbor- 
ing port  of  Nagasaki  in  the  great  year  of 
1854,  charged  to  see  to  it  that  the  hermit 
nation  be  still  kept  free  from  the  touch  of 
aliens,  this  lord  from  Saga  was  almost  liter- 
ally led  through  the  tasting  of  "  bread  cast 
on  the  waters"  to  partake  of  that  leaven 
which  ever  since  has  steadily  been  trans- 
forming his  once  secluded  country  into  kin- 
ship with  the  Christian  brotherhood  of  man. 
In  a  tour  of  naval  vigilance  about  the  harbor, 

263 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

he  saw  floating  in  the  water  a  httle  book 
different  from  any  he  had  ever  seen  before. 
Rescuing  the  curious  volume  from  destruc- 
tion, his  curiosity  became  still  more  excited 
upon  finding  that  the  contents  were  stranger 
than  the  form,  the  book  being,  in  fact,  none 
other  than  a  Dutch  copy  of  the  Gospels, 
which  an  interpreter  laid  bare  to  him  with  an 
effectiveness  that  enlisted  his  entire  interest 
in  the  wonderful  story  unfolded.  Learning 
that  copies  were  to  be  had  in  the  Chinese 
characters,  and  therefore  intelligible  to  him- 
self, he  sent  a  man  secretly  to  China  to  pro- 
cure this  proscribed,  but  coveted  treasure, 
which  afterw^ards,  in  his  home  at  Saga,  he 
studied  with  absorbed  attention. 

The  Dutch  alone,  of  all  the  people  of 
Europe,  were  at  that  time  permitted  to  trade 
with  Japan,  and  they  were  confined  to  the 
little  island  of  Deshima  in  Nagasaki  harbor, 
under  conditions  at  once  severe  and  de- 
grading. Somehow  this  little  Dutch  Testa- 
ment was  set  adrift  from  Deshima  like  a 
Moses  on  the  waters,  to  be  lifted  from  its 
watery  grave  into  the  very  bosom  of  power. 
And  meanwhile  a  young  Hollander,  recover- 
ing from  serious  illness  in  America,  had  just 
at  this  moment  vowed  in  gratitude  to  spend 


VERBECK 

his  life  in  missionary  service  somewhere, 
little  knowing  that  Murata  of  Saga,  with  his 
Dutch  and  Chinese  Testaments,  was  waiting 
all  unwitting  for  his  coming. 

Guido  Herman  Fridolin  Verbeck  was 
born  in  Zeist,  Holland,  on  the  twenty-third 
of  January,  1830.  He  himself  has  sketched 
for  us  the  simple  picture  of  his  home  life, 
which  glows  with  the  rich  colors  of  youth 
and  love,  like  a  canvas  from  the  hand  of 
Rubens : 

"We  lived  like  Jacob  did,  in  the  free 
Temple  of  Nature,  enjoying  the  garden,  the 
fruit,  the  flowers,  with  joy,  on  green  benches, 
between  green  hedges.  And  after  sunset, 
when  the  stars  were  sparkling,  then  we 
brothers  and  sisters  went  lovingly  arm  in 
arm  and  passed  our  time  in  garden,  wood,  or 
quiet  arbor,  enjoying  each  other's  happiness 
and  God's  peace." 

His  education  was  thorough,  especially  in 
the  European  languages;  and  the  profes- 
sion for  which  he  was  designed  was  civil  en- 
gineering. While  still  at  home  he  fell  under 
the  influence  of  the  Moravian  missionary, 
GiitzlaiF,  famous  for  learned  and  devoted 
work  in  China.  The  career  of  "  Verbeck  of 
Japan,"  indeed,  should  no  doubt  be  set  to  the 

265 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

credit  of  that  movement  for  missions  which 
began  in  the  eighteenth  century  with  the 
Count  von  Zinzendorf,  and  has  made  the 
name  "  JNIoravian"  almost  synonymous  with 
"  missionary." 

The  story  of  his  hfe  before  his  hfe-work 
began  need  not  concern  us  long.  Coming  to 
America  in  1852  as  to  a  land  of  promise  for 
young  men,  he  soon  found  himself  ill  at  ease 
in  the  engineering  profession,  until,  two 
years  later,  as  we  have  seen,  he  obeyed  the 
earlier  and  nobler  promptings  of  his  heart, 
and  began  to  prepare  himself  for  the  minis- 
try at  Auburn,  New  York.  The  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church,  feeling  a  sense  of  obligation 
to  the  newly-ox^ened  land  which  had  long  been 
bound  by  strong  ties  to  Holland,  decided  to 
join  hands  with  the  Episcopal  and  Presby- 
terian Churches  in  attempting  an  entrance 
for  Christian  missions,  and  in  1859  the 
young  minister  found  an  opportunity  to 
fulfil  his  vow  in  the  acceptance  of  a  call  to 
become  missionary  to  awakening  Japan. 
With  his  bride  he  left  New  York  in  the  sail- 
ing-ship "  Surprise,"  May  7,  1859,  in  com- 
pany with  other  missionaries,  and  after  ex- 
actly six  months  of  travel  reached  the  port 
of  Nagasaki  on  the  night  of  November  7. 

266 


VERBECK 

Let  his  own  pen  describe  his  first  view  of 
Sunrise-Land : 

"  With  the  first  dawning  of  the  day  I  can- 
not describe  the  beauty  that  is  before  me.  I 
have  never  seen  anything  hke  it  before  in 
Europe  or  America.  Suppose  yourself  to  be 
on  deck  of  a  steamer  within  a  port  as  smooth 
as  a  mirror,  about  sixteen  neat  vessels  scat- 
tered about  here  and  there,  before  you  that 
far-famed  Deshima,  and  around  it  and  be- 
yond an  extensive  city  with  many  neat 
white-roofed  and  walled  houses,  and  again 
all  around  this  city  lofty  hills,  covered  with 
evergreen  foliage  of  great  variety,  and  in 
many  places  spotted  by  temples  and  houses. 
Let  the  morning  sun  shine  on  this  scene,  and 
the  morning  dews  gradually  withdraw  like 
a  curtain,  and  hide  themselves  in  the  more 
elevated  ravines  of  the  surrounding  moun- 
tain, and  you  have  a  very  faint  picture  of 
what  I  saw." 

Nagasaki  will  be  forever  famous  in  con- 
nection with  the  history  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion in  Japan.  The  first  missionary,  as  has 
been  shown,  was  the  notable  apostle  of 
Roman  Catholic  missions,  Francis  Xavier, 
who  came  to  Kvushu  from  India  in  1549. 

He  and  his  followers  had  remarkable  suc- 
ker 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

cess.  By  the  year  1587  several  hundred 
thousand  converts  had  been  won  by  the  mis- 
sionaries of  Portugal  and  Spain.  But  in 
that  year  persecutions  began,  under  the 
famous  "Napoleon  of  Japan,"  Hideyoshi 
of  Saga,  who  by  edict  endeavored  to  expel 
the  missionaries  on  account  of  alleged  politi- 
cal intrigue.  The  great  emperor  lyeyasu 
called  fresh  attention  to  the  disregarded 
edicts  of  his  predecessor,  and,  finally,  in  1614 
took  the  extreme  position  that  all  Christian 
teachers,  both  native  and  foreign,  must  be 
banished,  all  churches  destroyed,  and  all  be- 
lievers forced  to  abjure  their  faith.  This 
order  was  persistently  and  cruelly  enforced, 
the  descriptions  of  its  enforcement  being 
"beyond  description  horrible." 

But  the  persecutions  reached  their  acme 
under  the  next  emperor,  lemitsu,  who  was 
terribly  in  earnest  to  execute  his  father's  pro- 
gramme. As  "  The  Mikado's  Empire"  tells 
us,  "  All  the  tortures  that  barbaric  hatred  or 
refined  cruelty  could  invent  were  used  to 
turn  thousands  into  carcasses  and  ashes,  yet 
few  of  the  natives  quailed,  or  renounced 
their  faith.  They  calmly  let  the  fire  consume 
them,  or  walked  cheerfully  to  the  blood-pit, 
or  were  flung  alive  into  the  open  grave  about 


268 


VERBECK 

to  be  filled  up."  This  persecution,  historians 
assure  us,  "has  never  been  surpassed  for 
cruelty  and  brutality  on  the  part  of  the  per- 
secutors, or  for  courage  and  constancy  on 
the  part  of  those  who  suffered."  Nagasaki, 
with  the  neighboring  precipitous  islet  of 
Pappenburg,  was  the  centre  of  this  terrible 
strife,  "  if  that  can  be  called  a  strife  in  which 
there  was  but  one  side  armed,  but  one  side 
slain." 

Finally,  the  salaried  butchers  washed  the 
red  stains  from  their  weary  arms,  because 
the  battle  was  over.  But  the  government 
intended  that  its  victory  should  be  perpetual. 
To  quote  Dr.  Griffis  again, — "All  over  the 
empire,  in  every  city,  town,  village,  and  ham- 
let; by  the  roadside,  ferry,  or  mountain- 
pass,  stood  the  public  notice-boards,  on  w^hich 
was  one  tablet,  written  with  a  deeper  brand 
of  guilt,  with  a  more  hideous  memory  of 
blood,  with  a  more  awful  terror  of  torture, 
than  when  the  like  superscription  was  affixed 
at  the  top  of  a  cross  that  stood  between  two 
thieves  on  a  little  hill  outside  Jerusalem." 
The  name  inscribed  thereon,  coupled  with 
the  most  fearful  maledictions  against  such  as 
should  confess  it,  was  the  name  of  Christ. 
"For  centuries,  the  mention  of  that  name 

269 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

would  bate  the  breath,  blanch  the  cheek,  and 
smite  with  fear  as  with  an  earthquake  shock. 
So  thoroughly  was  Christianity  supposed  to 
be  eradicated  before  the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  that  its  existence  was  histori- 
cal, remembered  only  as  an  awful  scar  on  the 
national  memory."  To  make  the  opening  of 
this  wound  impossible,  foreigners  were  for- 
ever prohibited  entrance  to  Japan,  the  only 
exception  being  that  small  colony  of  Dutch 
traders  shut  up  on  a  prison  island  at  Naga- 
saki, doubtless  favored  because  of  their 
traditional  enmity  against  the  Portuguese 
and  Spaniards.  Japan  put  up  her  bars, 
closed  all  her  gates,  and  for  three  hundred 
years  was  a  hermit  among  the  nations — 
the  only  light  that  came  in  from  the  out- 
side world  coming  through  the  Nagasaki 
keyhole. 

Then,  in  1854,  the  same  year  that  INIurata 
of  Saga  tasted  of  the  "bread  cast  on  the 
waters,"  those  gates  of  brass  were  broken, 
and  the  bars  of  iron  were  suddenly  cut  in 
sunder,  by  the  entrance  of  Commodore 
Perry  with  his  American  warships  into  the 
bay  of  Yedo,  demanding  that  Japan  sign 
treaties  of  comity  and  intercourse  with  the 
other  nations  of  mankind.    When  Verbeck 

270 


Two  Brothers  of  Old  Japan 


VERBECK 

arrived  in  Nagasaki,  five  years  later,  the 
awakening  empire  was  like 

"  An  infant  crying  in  the  night, 
An  infant  crying  for  the  light," 

and  that  light  was  in  his  hand. 


The  same  Providence  that  set  Murata's 
heart  athirst  for  the  waters  of  life,  and  Ver- 
beck's  heart  hungry  to  quench  that  thirst, 
provided  that  these  two  men,  whose  bond  of 
union  was  a  Dutch  New  Testament,  should 
meet  each  other  as  pupil  and  teacher  before 
the  new  missionary  had  been  long  in  his  new 
home.  For  five  years  the  silent  student  of 
the  forbidden  Word  had  treasured  its  truths 
in  secret.  Now,  for  several  years  after  Ver- 
beck's  arrival,  instruction  from  the  mission- 
ary in  Nagasaki  is  conveyed  to  the  pupil  at 
Saga  through  the  mediation  of  Murata's 
younger  brother.  Finally,  in  the  spring  of 
1866,  ]\Iurata  visits  his  unknown  teacher, 
with  the  touching  words : 

"  I  have  long  known  you  in  my  mind,  and 
desired  to  converse  with  you,  and  I  am  very 
happy  that,  in  God's  providence,  I  am  at  last 
permitted  this  privilege." 


271 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

Later  in  the  conversation  he  said: 

"  Sir,  I  cannot  tell  you  my  feelings  ^vhen 
for  the  first  time  I  read  the  account  of  the 
cliaracter  and  work  of  Jesus.  I  had  never 
seen,  or  heard,  or  imagined  such  a  person.  I 
was  filled  wdth  admiration,  overwhelmed  with 
emotion,  and  taken  captive  by  the  record  of 
His  nature  and  His  life." 

After  a  week  of  eager  questioning  and 
prayerful,  patient  answ^ers,  this  man  who  for 
years  had  been  reaching  out  towards  God  if 
haply  he  might  find  Him,  received  with  his 
brother  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  and  re- 
turned to  his  Saga  home  committed  to  the 
outlawed  faith,  to  which  he  gave  loyal  fealty 
until  his  peaceful  death  in  1874,  at  the  age  of 
sixty  years. 

It  is  almost  incredible  that  in  those  days 
of  fierce  turbulence  and  civil  strife,  when 
Japan  was  in  the  throes  of  her  second  birth, 
an  alien  like  Verbeck  could  so  command  the 
confidence  of  these  people  who  would  not 
trust  each  other,  and  who  professed  to  hate 
the  world.  Yet  men  of  the  highest  rank 
flocked  to  him  for  advice  and  teaching.  His 
varied  store  of  learning  was  made  subject  to 
continued  draughts,  but  the  supplies  seemed 
ever  inexhaustible.     Best  of  all  among  his 


VERBECK 

many  rich  endowments  was  a  superabun- 
dance of  sound,  hard  sense,  and  of  conse- 
crated Christian  judgment,  which  made  him 
a  sturdy  and  fearless  adviser  to  whom  the 
imperial  government  itself  was  finally  glad 
to  listen.  Here  in  the  classes  for  young  men 
which  he  daily  taught  in  Nagasaki  sat  scores 
of  youth  who  were  destined  to  direct  the 
future  course  of  empire.  Supreme  among 
these  w^re  Soejima,  Iwakura,  and  Okuma, 
imbibing  instruction  that  was  steadily  and 
withal  most  shrewdly  directed  towards  the 
breaking  down  of  anti-Christian  prejudice, 
the  aim  to  which  the  missionary  absorbingly 
directed  all  his  prayers  and  efforts.  These 
men,  by  reason  of  the  enlightenment  they 
thus  received  from  almost  the  only  Western 
teacher  in  Japan,  afterwards  became  cabinet 
officers  and  high  ministers  of  state,  through 
whom  the  masterly  mind  of  Verbeck  worked 
towards  larger  issues  than  have  been  faced 
by  any  other  missionary  of  modern  times. 

His  fame  spread  rapidly.  By  the  year 
1867  no  less  than  four  of  the  foremost 
princes  of  Japan  were  clamoring  for  him  to 
come  to  their  provinces  and  direct  that  for- 
eign progress  which  they  were  so  eager  to 
advance  among  their  people.     But  he  was 

18  273 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

reserved  for  still  larger  labors.  Two  years 
later  he  was  called  to  the  capital  itself,  and 
so  after  a  decade  of  unmeasured  usefulness 
in  the  Southern  seaport,  became  the  director 
of  the  Imperial  University,  and  man-of -all- 
work  to  the  newly- formed  government  in 
Tokyo. 

Here  the  multiplicity  and  importance  of 
his  labors  almost  defies  belief.  Thirty-six  of 
his  Nagasaki  pupils  followed  him  as  the 
nucleus  of  a  school,  and  shortly  he  was  the 
teacher  of  a  thousand  eager  learners,  a 
second  Abelard.  Besides,  he  was  busied  with 
the  translation  of  such  great  works  as  the 
Napoleonic  Code,  Blackstone's  Commen- 
taries, Humboldt's  Cosmos,  Bluntschli's  and 
Wheaton's  and  Perry's  treatises  on  political 
economy  and  international  law — massive 
foundations  for  the  building  of  a  mighty 
nation.  Nor  was  that  all.  Dr.  Griffis,  who 
saw  him  at  his  post  in  1871,  gives  this  graphic 
inner  glimpse  of  the  great  missionary's 
crowded  workshop : 

"  It  impressed  me  mightily  to  see  what  a 
factotum  ]Mr.  Verbeck  was,  a  servant  of  ser- 
vants, indeed,  for  I  could  not  help  thinking 
how  he  imitated  his  Master.  I  saw  a  prime 
minister  of  the   empire,   heads   of  depart- 

274 


VERBECK 

ments,  and  officers  of  various  ranks,  whose 
personal  and  official  importance  I  sometimes 
did,  and  sometimes  did  not,  realize,  coming 
to  find  out  from  Mr.  Verbeck  matters  of 
knowledge  or  to  discuss  with  him  points  and 
courses  of  action.  To-day  it  might  be  a  plan 
of  national  education;  to-morrow,  the  en- 
gagement of  foreigners  to  important  posi- 
tions ;  or  the  dispatch  of  an  envoy  to  Europe ; 
the  choice  of  the  language  best  suitable  for 
medical  science ;  or  how  to  act  in  matters  of 
neutrality  between  France  and  Germany, 
whose  war-vessels  were  in  Japanese  waters; 
or  to  learn  the  truth  about  what  some  for- 
eign diplomatist  had  asserted;  or  concern- 
ing the  persecutions  of  Christians;  or  some 
serious  measure  of  home  policy." 

This  was  the  time  when  Japan  was  making 
her  mightiest  strides.  The  changes  that  took 
place  during  the  decade  preceding  1870 
seem  now  almost  miraculous — embracing  the 
bulk  of  that  progress  which  we  are  accus- 
tomed, in  thought,  to  spread  over  the  last 
half-century.  It  is  therefore  interesting  to 
find  Dr.  Verbeck,  so  long  ago  as  April,  1870, 
describing  the  changes  of  "the  past  ten 
years."  After  pointing  out  that  "the  Jap- 
anese, ten  years  ago,  were  in  nearly  all  re- 

275 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

spects  in  the  same  primitive  condition  so 
quaintly  described  in  the  musty  pages  of  old 
Kaempfer,"  he  says  that  "  now  the  open 
ports  and  their  vicinity  teem  with  shops  re- 
tailing foreign  merchandise;  and  foreign 
cloths,  blankets  (worn  as  shawls),  flannels, 
calicos,  hats,  boots  and  shoes,  watches,  um- 
brellas, and  fancy  articles  are  worn  and  used, 
in  some  form  or  other,  by  all  classes,  from 
the  daimio  to  the  poor  '  betto'  or  groom.  Be- 
sides the  stores  kept  by  foreigners,  there  are 
at  Yokohama  and  Yedo  alone  many  hun- 
dreds of  native  shops  selling  foreign  goods. 
A  large  portion  of  the  middle  and  upper 
classes — at  least  the  male  portion — dress  en- 
tirely in  our  style.  Even  old  men,  too  old 
to  sport  the  new  costume,  look  with  delight 
upon  their  little  grandsons  dressed  in  hats, 
boots,  and  what  belongs  between,  and  take 
pride  to  show  off  in  the  streets  their  '  young 
Japan'  thus  apparelled.  The  army  and 
navy  are  remodelled  on  European  and 
American  systems  in  organization,  arms,  and 
uniforms,  down  to  the  common  trumpet, 
drum,  and  fife.  We  have  several  lines  of 
stages,  hackney-coaches,  and  two  steamers 
running  between  Yedo  and  Yokohama,  na- 
tives  and  foreigners  competing  with  each 

276 


VERBECK 

other  on  both  elements.  On  the  same  route 
there  is  a  telegraph  in  operation,  and  a 
contract  is  said  to  have  been  made  for  the 
construction  of  a  railroad  from  here  to 
Osaka.  There  are  two  extensive  foun- 
dries with  foreign  machinery  in  the 
country,  and  several  docks.  There  is  a 
wide-spread  demand,  an  actual  thirst  in 
many,  for  Western  learning  and  science. 
Here  is  our  college  wdth  its  hundreds 
of  English,  French,  and  German  scholars; 
besides  this  there  are  several  private  schools, 
carried  on  by  natives,  for  the  study  of 
chiefly  English;  and  there  are  numbers  of 
students  who  study  independent  of  any 
school  whatever,  by  books  and  their  own 
efforts  only.  Then  there  are  hundreds  more 
at  the  other  open  ports.  There  are  three 
large  hospitals  and  medical  colleges,  in  which 
eight  foreign  physicians  are  engaged. 
Western  medical  science  has  nearly  quite 
superseded  the  old  Chinese  system  of  quacks 
and  immense  doses  of  drugs.  Newspapers 
are  published  in  several  places,  with  their 
columns  of  'Foreign'  and  'Telegrams,' 
clipped  and  translated  from  our  standard 
home  papers.  Book-stores  selling  Enghsh 
and  French  books  are  seen  in  many  places, 

277 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

and  the  quantity  of  books  imported  is  pro- 
digious." 

The  inhibition  against  Christianity,  how- 
ever, was  still  maintained  in  the  laws,  and 
every  effort  of  the  missionary  empire-builder 
was  aimed  at  this  as  at  a  target.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1869  he  submitted  to  the  powerful 
Count  Okuma,  his  former  pupil,  a  plan  that 
eventually  accomplished  the  tolerance  of  the 
Christian  religion,  and  at  the  same  time 
brought  Japan  to  a  position  in  the  front  of 
the  world-stage  from  which  she  has  never 
since  receded.  This  was  the  Great  Embassy 
of  1871,  organized  according  to  Verbeck's 
suggestion,  following  the  route  he  outlined, 
submitting  to  his  judgment  in  the  matter  of 
appointments — exciting  the  amazed  atten- 
tion of  the  whole  world,  in  short,  while  the 
man  behind  the  scenes  writes:  " I  shall  leave 
the  honor  of  initiating  this  embassy  to  them- 
selves. The  name  is  nothing,  the  real  results 
are  all.  Who  cares  for  the  mere  name  and 
honor,  if  we  are  sure  to  reap  the  benefits, — 
toleration  and  its  immense  consequences, — 
partly  now,  but  surely  after  the  return  of 
this  embassy?" 

Verbeck  reasoned  that  if  the  leaders  of  the 
nation  could  but  be  induced  to  go  abroad  and 

278 


VERBECK 

see  for  themselves  the  condition  of  Christian 
countries,  they  would  no  longer  proscribe  a 
religion  that  had  wrought  so  wondrously  for 
others.  This  was  the  motive  that  inspired  in 
his  masterly  mind  that  wonderful  embassy 
to  Christendom ;  nor  was  he  disappointed  in 
his  object.  In  fact,  no  sooner  had  the  im- 
perial ministers  telegraphed  from  abroad 
their  impressions,  than  the  anti-Christian 
edicts  disappeared  as  if  by  magic,  and  from 
that  day  to  this  religious  toleration  has  been 
a  principle  of  action  in  Japan! 

But  we  must  hurry  on.  In  the  year  1873, 
Dr.  Verbeck  was  actually  made  special  ad- 
viser to  the  Imperial  Japanese  Senate. 
Upon  retirement  from  this  important  posi- 
tion after  five  years  of  brilliant  service,  he 
received  from  the  Emperor  the  great  decora- 
tion of  the  Order  of  the  Rising  Sun.  In 
1891  this  "man  without  a  country"  was 
placed  under  the  especial  protection  of  the 
segis  of  the  Japanese  Empire,  an  honor  "  ab- 
solutely unique"  in  the  history  of  Japan. 
And  when,  on  March  10,  1898,  he  quietly 
fell  asleep  in  Jesus,  the  Emperor  himself 
paid  tribute  to  his  obsequies,  while  military 
honors  were  observed  above  his  grave,  and  an 
entire  nation  felt  the  touch  of  bereavement. 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

Such  is  the  power  of  a  hidden  human  Hfe, 
working  at  one  with  the  JVIaster. 

Tliis  sketch  has  but  barely  suggested  the 
greatness  of  his  missionary  labors  as  such. 
Besides  meeting  with  phenomenal  success  as 
a  preacher,  his  share  in  the  translation  of  the 
Scriptures  is  in  itself  a  monument  to  make 
any  man  great  forever.  And  not  the  least 
item  to  his  credit  is  the  fact  that  amid  the 
turmoil  of  theological  unrest,  when  the 
young  Church  of  New  Japan  w^as  beset  with 
varied  heresies,  Verbeck  stood  like  a  rock  for 
the  old  truth,  which  he  believed  to  be  as 
eternal  as  its  source.  A  modest,  kindly  gen- 
tleman, and  yet  filled  with  all  fine  fearless 
manhood ;  mighty  in  learning,  but  as  humble 
as  a  little  child;  wielding  the  sceptre  of  an 
empire  from  within  the  shadow^  of  a  self- 
imposed,  modest  retirement;  this  master  of 
men  was  the  servant  of  all,  and  therefore  his 
crown  is  immortal.  Nor  shall  we  ever  de- 
spair of  the  future  of  a  race,  who,  for  all 
their  faults,  proved  so  responsive  to  the 
spiritual  magnetism  of  a  holy  life  as  did  the 
Japanese  to  this  master  missionary. 

"  The  openers  of  gates," — the  men  are 
Christ's  messengers,  and  the  keys  are  the 

280 


VERBECK 

keys  of  the  Kingdom.  The  key  that  un- 
locked the  proud  emph'e  of  Rome,  and  the 
barbarous  homes  of  our  own  ancestors  in 
Europe,  is  indeed  a  master-key,  fitted  to  all 
the  door-ways  of  the  world.  It  is  mighty  in 
the  hand  of  Verbeck,  as  it  was  mighty  in  the 
hands  of  St.  Paul.  Verbeck's  hand  has  been 
lifted  by  his  Master's,  who  called  him  to 
"  Come  up  higher."  But  surely  others  like 
him  must  spring  to  take  his  place,  that  the 
little  "  gate  of  Asia"  be  opened  wide  to  the 
light,  so  that  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  may 
indeed  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  God 
and  of  His  Christ.  "I  will  give  unto  thee 
the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven," — 
against  which  not  even  the  gates  of  hell  can 
prevail.  The  keys  of  God  unlock  all  stub- 
born doors,  and  the  entrance  of  His  Word 
giveth  light. 


291 


XI 


THE   GATES   OF  ASIA;   OR, 

THE  LARGER  MEANING 

OF  THE  WAR 


^  Palestine  and  Japan  :  *'  The 
Circuit  of  the  Heavens" — The 
Vast  Importance  of  Asia  and 
the  Present  Problem  of  China 
— Russia  versus  Japan  :  The 
Political  Argument  for  Missions 
— Reasons  why  Japan  may  Win 
this  War 


XI 


The   Gates  of   Asia;    or,   the   Larger 
Meaning  of  the  War 

Nestling  against  either  side  of  the  great 
mother  continent  of  Asia  are  two  baby 
countries.  They  are  directly  opposite  each 
other,  lying  between  the  thirtieth  and  for- 
tieth parallels  of  latitude.  The  shore  of  each 
is  bathed  by  the  waters  of  a  great  and  famous 
sea:  the  one  by  the  Mediterranean,  which 
stretches  out  through  the  straits  of  Gibraltar 
into  the  Atlantic;  the  other  by  the  Yellow 
Sea,  whose  waters  mingle  with  the  waters  of 
the  Pacific.  They  are  similar  in  geography, 
in  climate,  in  topography,  and  in  many  of 
the  customs  of  their  people.  Yet,  while  these 
two  countries  are  the  twin  children  of  the 
same  titanic  mother,  they  are  separated  not 
only  by  the  imperial  breadth  of  her  capa- 
cious bosom,  but  also  by  the  passage  of 
twenty  centuries.  And  yet,  again,  it  would 
almost  seem  that  at  the  close  of  these  twenty 
centuries,  the  blessing  which  came  out  of 
Asia  on  the  one  side  is  to  return  into  Asia 

285 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

on  the  other  side,  having  meanwhile  belted 
the  globe. 

These  countries  are  Japan  and  Palestine. 
It  is  they  which  lie  respectively  on  the  west 
and  east  sides  of  Asia,  separated  by  five  thou- 
sand miles  of  land  and  by  twenty  centuries 
of  time.  It  is  they  which  form  the  gates  of 
Asia — Palestine  opening  outward,  twenty 
centuries  ago,  to  let  the  light  shine  out,  and 
Japan  opening  inward,  to-day,  to  let  this 
same  light,  which  has  meanwhile  traversed 
the  intervening  world,  shine  in. 

I  said,  to  let  the  light  shine  out.  We  have 
all  heard  the  ancient  Latin  proverb,  "  Out 
of  the  East  cometh  light."  It  is  true  not 
merely  of  physical  light,  but  of  spiritual 
light  as  well.  Was  not  the  very  birth  of 
civilization  with  the  Babylonians  and  Egyp- 
tians? The  Great  Pyramid,  already  two 
thousand  vears  old  when  Abraham  visited 
the  Pharaoh,  remains  a  fit  symbol  of  that 
sublime  foundation,  laid  first  on  the  banks 
of  the  Nile  and  the  Euphrates,  whereon  all 
superstructures  in  the  arts  and  letters  have 
been  reared.  What  the  lands  of  the  Pyra- 
mid began,  the  eastern  land  of  the  Parthenon 
completed.  The  Parthenon  to  this  day  re- 
mains the  most  perfect  work  of  art  that  has 

286 


o 

ri- 

re 
tn 

o 

Its 


Oi 
OI 


i    '   c  ac  • 


GATES   OF   ASIA 

been  produced.  Our  highest  art  is  but  a 
feeble  imitation  of  the  art  of  Phidias  and 
Zeuxis.  And  as  with  art,  so  it  was  with 
philosophic  thought.  The  world's  great 
trinity  of  intellectual  giants  lived  in  Greece, 
consecutively.  Their  influence  on  human 
life  and  character  is  still  inestimable.  It 
were  not  indeed  too  much  to  say  that  the 
human  mind,  working  upward,  reached  its 
summit  in  the  days  of  ancient  Greece.  Then, 
when  the  fulness  of  the  time  was  come,  the 
mind  of  God  came  down  to  meet  the  mind  of 
man,  and  Jesus  was  born  in  the  East.  If  the 
mystic  pyramids  speak  of  the  sunrise  glory 
of  the  Orient,  and  if  the  Parthenon  sym- 
bolizes its  culture,  then  the  little  grotto  of 
Bethlehem  represents  the  last  and  greatest 
gift  that  has  come  from  the  East  to  bless  us. 
Out  of  the  East  cometh  light.  We  of  the 
West  are  proud  and  glad  in  the  sunshine. 
Let  us  not  forget  gratitude  for  the  mysteri- 
ous and  bountiful  Orient,  which  has  been 
the  ultimate  source  of  all  the  brightness  that 
has  come  to  bless  our  world.* 

*  "  Four  Princes,"  Sclierer,  "  Foreword." 
Note. — In  his  thoughtful  book  on  "  The  Prob- 
lems of  the  Far  East,"  Mr.  G.  Curzon  summarizes 

287 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

But  now,  is  it  not  strange  that  the  great 
continent  which  has   so  blessed  the  world 

the  vast  importance  of  Asia  after  the  following 
manner : 

It  has  been  the  cradle  of  our  race,  the  birth- 
place of  our  language,  the  hearthstone  of  our  re- 
ligion, the  fountain-head  of  the  best  of  our  ideas. 
It  has  supplied  a  scene  for  the  principal  events,  and 
a  stage  for  the  most  prominent  characters  in  his- 
tory. Of  Asian  parentage  is  that  force  which, 
more  than  any  other,  influenced,  transformed,  and 
glorified  mankind, — namely,  the  belief  in  a  single 
Deity.  The  six  greatest  moral  leaders  of  the 
world  were  born  of  Asian  parentage  and  lived  on 
Asian  soil:  Abraham,  Moses,  Buddha,  Confucius, 
Mencius,  and  Mohammed.  The  Lord  Himself 
chose  Asia  for  His  birthplace.  The  most  famous 
and  the  wisest  of  kings  have  sat  upon  Asian  thrones. 
Alexander  and  Napoleon  turned  thither  as  towards 
the  only  theatre  befitting  their  enormous  ambitions ; 
the  latter  with  the  amusing,  petulant  exclamation, 
"  This  old  Europe  tires  me !"  The  three  most  pop- 
ulous existing  empires  are  Asian  empires.  From 
that  mighty  land  of  the  sunrise  has  come  the 
noblest  product  of  all  literature,  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  Thither  proceeded 
the  embryos  of  modern  science  in  the  empiricism  of 
Arabian  geometers  and  metaphysicians ;  and  it  was 
there  that  the  mariner's  compass  first  guided  men 

over  the   trackless  waters.      On   Asiatic   soil  were 

288 


GATES   OF   ASIA 

should  itself  be  at  this  time  without  the  bless- 
ing of  the  light?  Palestine,  the  outward 
opening  gate,  is  neighbor  to  Persia  and  Ara- 
bia ;  yet  Persia  and  Arabia  are  not  Christian 
countries.  Palestine,  the  outward  opening 
gate,  belongs  to  the  same  continent  with  In- 
dia and  China;  yet  India  and  China  are  to- 
day two  of  the  greatest  fields  for  missionary 
activity.  It  is  but  a  step  from  Palestine 
across  the  Isthmus  of  Suez  into  the  great 
continent  of  Africa ;  yet  Africa  is  known  as 
the  Dark  Continent.  But  remember  that  the 
light,  coming  out  of  the  east,  shines  always 
straight  towards  the  west.  How  glorious  is 
the  east  at  the  time  of  the  sunrise!  and  yet 
it  is  the  glory  of  sacrifice,  of  self -emptying ; 

reared  the  most  astonishing  of  all  cities,  Babylon; 
the  most  princely  of  palaces,  Persepolis ;  the  state- 
liest of  temples,  Angko  Wat;  the  lovehest  of 
tombs,  the  Taj  Mahal.  There,  too,  may  be  found 
the  lovehest  of  nature's  productions,  the  loftiest 
mountains  on  the  surface  of  the  globe,  the  most 
renowned  of  rivers,  cataracts  which  make  Niagara 
seem  pygmy,  and  the  most  entrancing  of  land- 
scapes. In  the  heart  of  Asia  lies  to  this  day  the 
one  mystery  which  the  nineteenth  century  has  left 
for  the  twentieth  to  explore, — namely,  the  Thi- 
betan oracle  of  Lhasa. 
19  289 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

it  is  the  sacrificial  glory  of  birth.  Look  at 
the  east  an  hour  later,  when  the  sun  is  hurry- 
ing like  a  busy  man  towards  his  w^estern 
home, — how  leaden  and  gray  and  barren  the 
east  seems  then!  But,  as  surely  as  light 
travels  in  an  orbit,  so  surely  wall  the  sweet 
blessed  sunshine,  having  made  its  worldwide 
circuit  for  the  giving  of  light  and  life, — so 
surely  wdll  the  sunshine  come  back  into  the 
east  from  the  other  side,  and  the  east  will 
be  uplit  again. 

From  Palestine  the  Gospel  spread  to- 
wards the  west.  In  almost  a  straight  line  it 
journeyed,  through  the  Cilician  gates,  to 
Ephesus,  Corinth,  and  Rome.  So  gentle,  so 
quiet  was  its  diffusion  that  few  guessed  its 
strength  until,  in  the  year  324,  the  whole 
Roman  empire  became  Christian  by  imperial 
decree.  By  the  commencement  of  the 
seventh  century  we  find  the  light  so  spread 
as  to  cover  every  land  in  its  western  track, 
to  the  very  outermost  edges  of  Gaul  and 
Spain,  while  the  whole  northern  fringe  of 
Africa,  lying  in  the  line  of  light,  is  ablaze 
with  Christian  churches.  Moreover,  from 
the  outlying  edges  of  Spain  and  Gaul  the 
rays  had  been  refracted  northward  to  Wales 
and  Ireland,  among  the   Scots  and  Picts. 

290 


GATES   OF   ASIA 

During  the  next  two  centuries  the  Germans 
and  Enghsh  are  converted;  in  the  tenth  and 
eleventh  centuries  Scandinavia  is  added  to 
the  Christian  map,  which  now  includes  al- 
most the  whole  of  Europe.  And  we  know 
that  when  those  Europeans  sailed  across  the 
Western  sea,  the  light  came  with  them,  ever 
broadening  from  that  single  star  which  ap- 
peared in  the  East  to  the  shepherds  of  Pales- 
tine, so  that  to-day  the  entire  sweep  of 
Europe  and  this  farthest  Western  world  is 
in  its  blessed  pathway.  Out  of  the  East 
came  light.* 

And  the  light  returns  to  the  East,  through 
the  West.  If  Palestine  is  the  gate  opening 
outward,  Japan  seems  the  gate  opening  in- 
ward. When  the  Church  had  been  quick- 
ened into  activity  by  the  virile  touch  of  the 
West,  we  find  this  activity  manifesting  itself 
by  the  desire  to  have  the  light  of  the  Gospel, 
now  that  it  had  traversed  the  globe,  reach 
Asia  from  the  other  side.  Accordingly,  the 
Roman  Church,  energized  by  the  tremen- 
dous potencies  of  the  German  Reformation, 
sent  Xavier  to  India.  But  he,  as  Paul  to 
Macedonia,   was   divinely  called   over  into 

*  "  Four  Princes,"  p.  260. 
291 


JAP  AX   TO-DAY 

Japan,  where  "a  great  door  and  effectual" 
was  opened  unto  him.  He  and  his  succes- 
sors, as  we  have  seen,  met  with  remarkable 
favor.  It  was  a  time  of  growth  scarcely 
equalled  since  the  Apostles.  But,  as  with 
the  early  Church,  so  now  persecutions  came. 
It  was  finally  thought  that  Christianity  had 
been  exterminated.  For  three  hundred  years 
Japan  was  a  hermit  nation.  Then,  in  1854, 
the  country  was  opened  once  more,  and  mis- 
sionaries soon  came  in.  From  that  time  to 
this  the  progress  has  been  steady  and  sure, 
until  to-day  mission  stations  are  to  be  found 
in  every  province  of  the  empire. 

What  is  more,  Christianity  now  wields  an 
influence  out  of  all  proportion  to  its  mere 
numerical  strength.  For  it  has  made  re- 
markable headway  among  official  classes, 
so  that  active  Christian  men  are  to  a  lar^e 
extent  directing  the  destinies  of  Japan  To- 
Day.  One  member  of  the  Imperial  Cabinet, 
two  speakers  of  the  Lower  House,  and  two 
justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  with  scores 
of  minor  officials,  have  been  zealous  mem- 
bers of  the  Christian  Church.  Out  of  three 
hundred  members  in  the  first  assembled  Par- 
liament, the  president  and  eleven  constitu- 
ents were  Christians;    this  was  fully  nine 


GATES   OF  ASIA 

times  as  great  a  representation  as  the  rela- 
tive strength  in  the  jDopulation  would  admit. 
The  most  recent  reports  inform  us  that  "  in 
the  present  Parliament  the  president  and 
thirteen  members  are  Christians.  Although 
the  opposition  to  Christians  is  strong,  yet 
members  are  elected  even  from  the  strong- 
holds of  Buddhism.  The  army  records  show 
one  hundred  and  fifty-five  Christian  officers, 
or  about  three  per  cent,  of  the  total  corps, 
and  the  two  best  battleships  are  commanded 
by  Christians.  Especially  in  literary  and 
educational  circles  Christians  are  a  leading 
power.  The  native  preacher,  Kozaki  Hiro- 
michi,  declares  that  scarcely  a  single  book 
has  been  pubhshed  during  the  rule  of  the 
present  Emperor  that  does  not  show  the  in- 
fluence of  Christian  thought.  At  the  uni- 
versities and  other  higher  grades  of  schools 
Christian  teachers  and  pupils  are  very 
largely  represented,  and  the  public  life  and 
thought  of  Japan  is  being  gradually  satu- 
rated with  Christian  thought  and  expres- 
sions." 

But  the  chief  significance  of  Japan  lies  in 
this:  Japan  is  the  inward  opening  gate  of 
Asia,  the  John  Baptist  to  China  and  her 
neighbors.    On  Japan's  western  side  lies  that 

293 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

mighty  continent  of  Asia,  the  now  darkened 
source  of  all  the  world's  light;  the  earliest 
home  of  man,  the  birthplace  of  civilization, 
the  field  for  the  development  of  the  Old 
Testament  Church,  and  the  birthplace, 
finally,  of  Him  who  is  the  Light  of  the 
World.  Almost  within  arm's  reach,  across 
the  Yellow  Sea,  is  China,  now  like  some  huge 
carcase  under  the  clutches  of  the  eagles  of 
Europe.  If  proximity  means  anything,  if 
racial  kinship  stands  for  aught,  if  centuries 
of  the  same  literature  and  the  same  civiliza- 
tion have  had  any  influence,  Japan,  with 
ready  receptiveness  for  new  truth,  is  the 
natural  saviour  of  China,  the  intermediator 
between  West  and  East.  The  very  qualities 
that  differentiate  these  peoples  from  each 
other  make  it  feasible  for  the  doughty  lad 
to  rouse  the  sleeping  giant.  They  were  at 
war  a  few  years  ago;  and  yet  that  blow 
which  Japan  struck  at  China  was  simply  a 
blow  of  awakening.  The  slumbering  giant 
first  rubbed  his  eyes  when  this  impulsive 
little  David  went  forth  with  the  smooth  peb- 
ble of  civilization  in  his  sling.  Unless  China 
makes  the  mistake  which  Goliath  made,  and 
persists  in  laughing  at  the  lad  with  his  peb- 
ble, a  civilized  and  Christian  Japan  may  be 

294 


GATES    OF    ASIA 

the  chief  instrument  under  God  for  the  civili- 
zation and  Christianization  of  China  and  of 
Asia.  We  cannot  doubt  that  among  Japan- 
ese Christians  may  arise  some  alert  and  zeal- 
ous Paul,  who,  with  Luke  and  Barnabas, 
Silas,  Timothy,  and  Titus,  will  at  length 
press  into  the  heart  of  Asia  with  the  cry, 
"Arise,  shine,  for  thy  light  is  come!" 


The  problem  of  China  to-day  is  vexing 
the  whole  wide  world.  As  one  has  said:  "  Its 
combination  of  horror  and  remoteness  and 
mystery  makes  a  powerful  appeal  to  the  im- 
agination. It  is  as  though  something  that 
had  appeared  to  be  a  huge,  inert,  misshapen, 
lifeless  mass  had  suddenly  revealed  itself  as 
in  reality  a  frightful  monster,  thrusting  its 
head  a  little  w^ay  out  of  the  impenetrable 
gloom,  wherein  one  hears,  although  one  can- 
not see,  the  writhing  of  its  hideous  coils." 
It  is  not  without  significance  that  the  sym- 
bol of  that  mighty  empire  is  the  dragon. 
The  Baron  de  Constant,  an  international 
authority  on  world  politics,  declares  that 
"we  are  only  at  the  beginning  of  the  Chi- 
nese peril;  it  transcends  our  imagination." 
The  gist  of  the  danger  lies  in  the  fact  that 
this  enormous  mass,  inert  for  centuries,  has 

295 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

at  last  begun  to  move.  What  its  future 
track  will  be  none  can  foretell.  One  thing 
is  certain.  China  and  the  world  from  this 
day  forth  can  never  be  as  they  have  been. 
Along  the  dawn  of  the  twentieth  century 
lies  a  great,  threatening  cloud,  which  may, 
however,  have  a  silver  lining.  But  the  cloud 
is  there.  The  problem  confronts  us.  A  few 
years  ago  the  sacred  capital  was  actually  in- 
vaded, the  inviolable  rulers  were  forced  to 
flee,  and  all  those  mighty  masses,  hitherto 
unmoved,  have  since  been  in  one  continual 
ferment.  As  our  former  consul  at  Tien  Tsin 
said,  the  doom  of  the  ancient  regime  has  been 
sealed,  for  its  continuance  depended,  as  it 
were,  upon  the  seclusion  within  the  holy  of 
holies,  from  the  profane  gaze  of  mortals,  of 
the  so-called  Son  of  Heaven.  China  has 
moved.  And  Napoleon,  at  St.  Helena,  look- 
ing out  on  the  vast  empire  of  the  world, 
which  he  had  come  to  know  so  well,  said: 
"When  China  is  moved  it  will  change  the 
face  of  the  globe." 

Consider  the  vastness  of  the  mighty  em- 
pire, comprising  four  millions  of  square 
miles  and  four  hundred  millions  of  souls. 
That  is  to  say,  the  country  is  one-third  larger 
than  Europe,   and  the  people  comprise  a 

296 


GATES   OF  ASIA 

third  of  the  population  of  the  globe.  But 
these  figures  are  too  nearly  an  approach  to 
infinitude  for  the  finite  mind  to  grasp.  To 
be  impressed  with  the  mere  bigness  of  China 
you  must  go  there.  One  traveller  has  graphi- 
cally described  the  experiences  of  all:  You 
are  dropped  down  in  China.  Immediately 
the  people  swarm  about  you.  They  seem 
to  rush  in  upon  you  through  every  pore. 
You  see  and  hear  and  breathe  nothing  but 
Chinese.  The  whole  four  hundred  millions 
of  these  beings  seem  to  weigh  you  down  and 
crush  you.  Then  by  and  by  it  dawns  upon 
you,  with  sometimes  overwhelming  force, 
that  you  have  not  merely  entered  among  a 
countless  mass  of  strange  human  beings,  but 
that  you  are  face  to  face  with  an  alien 
civilization — ancient,  complex,  mysterious. 
Wonder  grows  to  amazement,  curiosity  to 
awe,  when  you  learn  that  this  is  in  many  re- 
spects the  most  remarkable  civilization  the 
w^orld  has  known.  Its  antiquity  seems  like 
that  of  the  eternal  hills.  We  know  that  it 
extends  as  far  back  as  two  thousand  three 
hundred  years  before  Christ.  But  the  actual 
beginnings  are  lost  in  the  darkness  of  early 
Arcadian  and  Egyptian  daj^s.  This  empire 
saw  the  empires  of  the  ancient  world  blaze 

297 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

up  in  all  their  brief  brilliancy — Babylonia, 
Assyria,  Persia,  Greece,  Rome,  Israel.  It 
saw  them  die  out  and  pass  into  oblivion,  but 
it  went  its  way  unchanged.  It  was  known  to 
the  ancients  of  the  West,  but  always  as  a 
vague,  hazy,  mysterious  country.  The 
Greeks  and  Romans  write  of  its  people  un- 
der the  name  of  the  Seres.  Ptolemy,  300 
B.C.,  speaks  of  them  as  the  Sinse.  And  it 
seems  probable,  on  the  authority  of  great 
Biblical  scholars,  including  Gesenius,  that 
Isaiali  referred  to  them  700  B.C.,  when  he 
predicted  that  "these  from  the  land  of 
Sinim"  shall  come  to  worship  at  the  throne 
of  the  Messiah. 

One  of  the  chief  sources  of  the  perpetuity 
of  this  race  is  its  marvellous  degree  of  physi- 
cal vitality,  and  this  in  spite  of  an  almost 
total  disregard  of  the  commonest  laws  of 
health.  Instances  without  number  might  be 
cited  to  illustrate  their  w^onderful  vitality. 
One  must  suffice,  as  indicative  of  great  vital 
power  coupled  with  extreme  longevity. 
When  the  provincial  examinations  were  held 
a  few  years  ago  for  promotion  in  a  sort  of 
system  of  civil  service,  one  governor  reported 
that  nine  candidates  over  eighty  years  of  age 
and  two  over  ninety  w^ent  through  the  pre- 

298 


GATES   OF  ASIA 

scribed  test,  and  sent  in  essays  of  which  the 
composition  was  good  and  the  handwriting 
fii-m  and  distinct.  But  another  governor  re- 
ported that  in  his  province  thirty-five  of  the 
competitors  were  over  eighty  years  of  age 
and  eighteen  over  ninety.  These  records  are 
accurate.  Could  any  other  country  afford  a 
hke  spectacle?  It  has  truthfully  been  said 
that  if  people  with  such  physical  endow- 
ments as  the  Chinese  possess  were  to  be  pre- 
served from  the  effects  of  v/ar,  famines,  pes- 
tilence, and  opium,  and  if  they  were  to  pay 
some  attention  to  the  laws  of  physiology  and 
hygiene,  there  is  reason  to  think  that  they 
alone  w^ould  be  adequate  to  occupy  the  prin- 
cipal part  of  the  planet  and  more. 

The  incident  just  cited  serves  to  indicate 
another  source  of  strength  with  the  Chinese : 
their  great  intellectual  power.  Confucius  is 
one  of  the  great  names  of  the  world,  and  so 
is  the  name  of  INIencius.  Chinese  literature 
is  said  to  be  profoundly  interesting.  Their 
modern  diplomatists  are  sometimes  more 
than  a  match  for  our  own.  We  date  the  be- 
ginnings of  modern  science  from  the  three 
great  mediaeval  inventions  of  printing  and 
gunpowder  and  the  mariner's  compass.  But 
these  were  not,  j)i'opei'ly  speaking,  inven- 

299 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

tions  at  all,  but  mere  discoveries,  since  they 
had  been  known  in  China  for  many  centu- 
ries. JNIovable  types  were  first  used  in 
Europe  in  the  fifteenth  century;  they  had 
been  used  in  China  a  thousand  ^'-ears  before 
our  era  began.  Gunj)owder  had  been  known 
there  for  hundreds  of  years  before  it  was  in- 
troduced into  Europe.  As  for  the  compass, 
we  find  the  first  mention  of  its  use  in  Europe 
during  the  twelfth  century,  but  it  is  thought 
to  have  been  known  to  the  Chinese  for 
twenty-four  centuries  at  least. 

Physical  and  intellectual  strength,  how- 
ever, will  not  make  a  nation  great  w^ithout 
deeper  qualities  of  character.  There  must 
be  industry,  frugality,  perseverance.  Now, 
there  cannot  be  the  slightest  doubt  that  in 
these  three  great  basal  qualities  of  character 
the  Chinese  are  greatly  our  superiors.  Their 
diligence  is  untiring,  their  patience  a  mar- 
vel, inexhaustible;  while  their  simple  mode 
of  life  is  a  rebuke  to  our  growing  habits  of 
self-indulgence.  This  is  the  unanimous  tes- 
timony of  all  who  have  lived  in  China. 

Nor  are  they  lacking  in  honesty,  or  in 
benevolence,  or  in  filial  piety.  Whereas  in 
essential  respects  they  are  of  a  most  de- 
graded   morality,    they    nevertheless    have 

300 


GATES   OF  ASIA 

learned  an  important  lesson  which  the  Jap- 
anese have  as  yet  signally  failed  to  learn; 
that  "  honesty  is  the  best  policy."  Commer- 
cial residents  of  the  Far  East,  British  or 
American,  will  assure  you  that  they  would 
rather  do  business  with  Chinese  than  with 
their  own  countrymen,  because,  on  the  whole, 
they  can  better  trust  them.  Their  filial  piety 
is  known  the  world  over. 

Finally,  in  summing  up  the  elements 
which  make  the  Chinese  problem  of  such 
profound  significance  to  the  Western  world, 
it  should  be  remembered  that  the  Chinese, 
next  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  are  the 
greatest  colonizers  in  the  world.  "  The  large 
islands  and  coasts  of  Malasia  are  being  occu- 
pied by  them.  They  are  flocking  into  Poly- 
nesia and  America.  Hardy,  thrifty,  perse- 
vering, able  to  endure  any  climate  in  the 
world,  they  are  to  be  the  great  agents  for 
redeeming  such  lands  as  Borneo,  Sumatra, 
and  other  tropical  regions,  where  the  white 
man  sickens  and  the  natives  only  vegetate, 
until  pushed  out  by  the  enterprising  Chi- 
nese." 

We  now  have  before  us  the  chief  factors 
which  constitute  the  vast  potential  strength 
of  this  mighty  empire.     I  say  "potential, 


X  say     potential," 

301 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

for  China  is  still  a  sleeping  giant.  China 
invented  the  compass,  but  is  without  a  com- 
merce; discovered  gunpowder,  but  is  with- 
out arms;  invented  movable  types,  but  is 
without  a  press.  Their  best  mode  of  locomo- 
tion has  been  the  Avheelbarrow,  and  in  conse- 
quence they  have  suffered  frequent  and  de- 
vastating famines  in  a  land  of  plenty.  They 
have  in  a  single  province  coal-fields  sufficient 
to  supply  the  world  for  twenty  centuries,  but 
are  without  mines,  because  disturbances  of 
the  ground  might,  forsooth,  disturb  the 
dragons.  "  They  are  embodied  conserva- 
tism. For  twenty  centuries  they  have  lived 
in  a  state  of  arrested  development,  well  satis- 
fied so  to  live."  True  enough.  But  the 
present  crisis,  as  was  said  just  now,  lies  in  the 
fact  that  this  period  of  stagnation  seems 
about  to  end.  China  has  begun  to  move, 
albeit  in  her  sleep.  In  1894  Japan  gave  the 
first  rude  shock  to  this  ancient  slumber er, 
and  events  are  surely  completing  the  awaken- 
ing. I  ask,  what  is  to  happen  to  the  world 
when  this  slumberous  giant  shall  have  been 
fully  aroused?  At  present  all  that  the  Chi- 
nese need  is  coherence.  Their  troops  are 
not  lacking  in  bravery;  they  have  proved 
many  times  that  they  have  reckless  daring 

302 


GATES   OF   ASIA 

almost  without  parallel.  All  they  need  is 
leadership.  What  if  some  Napoleon  or 
Jenghiz  Khan  arise  among  them?  Remem- 
ber the  vast  population :  a  third  of  the  entire 
population  of  the  globe.  Remember  these 
great  qualities  of  physical  vitality,  intellec- 
tual strength,  industry,  frugality,  persever- 
ance, commercial  integrity,  and  instinct  for 
colonization, — which  is  another  name  for  con- 
quest ;  imagine  these  peo23le  united  by  some 
one  common  interest,  under  a  great  leader, 
and  animated  by  an  intense  hatred  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race,  which  they  will  not  hesi- 
tate to  manifest  by  savage  cruelty,  and  you 
will  see  what  the  world  might  have  to  face. 

I  believe  this  to  have  been  an  animating 
idea  with  Europe  of  late  years  in  its  attitude 
towards  China,  as  well  as  a  desire  to  acquire 
new  territory.  With  nations,  as  with  indi- 
viduals, "  self-preservation  is  the  first  law  of 
nature,"  and  the  statesmen  of  the  West  have 
seen  that  "the  yellow  peril"  is  more  than  a 
myth  and  have  now  and  then  endeavored 
to  secure  dismemberment  as  a  preventive 
against  great  future  dangers.  Russia  espe- 
cially has  favored  such  a  policy.  Nor  would 
any  grave  question  of  rights  be  involved. 
Those    people    are    mistaken  who   inveigh 

303 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

against  the  partitioning  of  China  on  ethical 
grounds,  because  it  would  not  be  just  to  de- 
prive the  people  of  self-government.  For, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Chinese  are  already 
ruled  by  aliens,  and  have  been  since  the 
thirteenth  century,  when  Jenghiz  Khan,  the 
Tatar  chief,  conquered  the  country.  The 
present  rulers  of  China  are  not  Chinese,  but 
Manchus.  The  distinctive  head-dress  of 
Chinese  men,  the  queue,  was  in  its  origin 
a  badge  of  subjection,  being  ordered  by  one 
of  the  conquerors  in  sign  of  his  mastery. 
Therefore  the  dismemberment  of  China 
would  not  be  its  disfranchisement,  but  sim- 
ply transfer  from  one  form  of  vassalage  to 
another,  and  perhaps  far  better.  The  ques- 
tion, then,  is  not  one  of  right,  but  of  ex- 
pediency. 

But  it  has  come  to  be  the  general  opinion, 
outside  of  Russia,  that  such  a  policy  w^ould 
by  no  means  be  expedient,  on  account  of  the 
inevitable  jealousies  of  the  powers.  China 
would  become  a  source  of  continual  conten- 
tion. The  question  of  the  Far  East  would 
be  permanently  added  to  the  Eastern  ques- 
tion and  to  all  the  other  questions  which 
perplex  the  world's  mind  to-day.  The  great 
states  would  be  compelled  to  augment  in- 

304 


GATES   OF   ASIA 

definitely  their  armies  and  fleets,  already 
ruinous,  while  they  kept  continually  on  their 
guard  one  against  another.  "  At  this  sight," 
says  Baron  de  Constant,  "the  countries  of 
disorder  and  fanaticism,  the  ^lussulmans  of 
Europe,  Africa,  and  Asia,  will  grow  bold 
and  will  begin  again  with  impunity  their  per- 
secutions against  the  commerce  and  the  per- 
sons of  Christians." 

The  fact  is,  China  must  have  simply  a 
guardian, — to  direct  and  protect  as  an  elder 
brother  guards  a  wayward  overgrown  child, 
until  China  shall  be  changed  from  within. 
Another  fact  is,  that  the  contest  for  the 
guardianship  of  China  is  in  progress  at  this 
very  moment.  It  is  a  great  wrestling  match 
between  Slav  and  Saxon,  between  Russia  on 
the  one  hand  and  the  Anglo-Saxon  peoples 
on  the  other,  as  represented,  paradoxically 
enough,  by  Japan.  It  is  not  in  the  least 
altruistic.  The  nations  are  not  vicing  for  the 
elevated  privilege  of  averting  the  "yellow 
peril"  from  their  neighbors  at  cost  and  self- 
sacrifice  to  themselves.  To  be  the  custodian 
of  China  means  to  hold  the  key  to  the  future. 
It  means  the  possession  of  strength  and  of 
wealth  untold.  The  power  that  dominates 
China  will  hold  the  balance  of  power  for  the 

20  305 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

world.  As  regards  natural  resources,  the  im- 
mense country  is  a  veritable  Golconda,  only 
waiting  to  pour  its  boundless  wealth  into  the 
lap  of  the  most  favored  nation.  It  possesses 
the  richest  mineral  deposits  in  the  world, 
as  yet  altogether  untouched.  Its  markets 
offer  the  most  tempting  outlets  for  surplus 
products.  Its  internal  commerce  promises 
unlimited  possibilities  of  development.  And 
then,  there  are  always  the  people, — one-third 
of  the  whole  human  race !  What  an  alliance 
to  win  their  friendship  and  secure  their 
co-operation  for  purposes  defensive  and 
offensive!  Plainly,  the  custodianship  of 
China  will  practically  mean  to  become  the 
custodian  of  the  destinies  of  the  world. 

Russia  has  never  lost  sight  of  this  fact. 
While  the  other  nations  of  Europe  have 
wondered  and  pondered  over  the  problem  of 
China,  Russia  has  stealthily,  but  steadily, 
strengthened  her  grip  upon  China.  She  has 
never  receded,  she  has  always  advanced. 
With  an  astuteness  that  puts  much  other 
diplomacy  to  shame,  she  has  let  the  other 
nations  work  her  will.  She  let  Japan  fight 
China  ten  years  ago  and  win  a  brilliant  vic- 
tory ;  but,  when  the  little  catspaw  had  thrust 
itself  into  the  fire  and  pulled  out  the  ripe 

306 


GATES   OF  ASIA 

chestnut  of  "Manchuria,"  the  Bear  quietly 
put  his  own  great  paw  down  over  it,  and 
Japan  was  forced  to  submit.  Russia  then 
hastened  to  build  the  Manchurian  railway, 
in  the  guise  of  the  saviour  of  China;  but, 
as  Senator  Beveridge  has  said,  "the  plain 
result  of  the  Manchurian  road  is  that  the 
only  business  route  to  China  is  through  the 
dominions,  under  the  protection  and  sur- 
rounded by  the  influence  of  the  Czar." 
Russia  w^as  very  meek  during  the  war  that 
resulted  from  the  Boxer  uprising;  only  in- 
sisting on  self -protection  by  sending  her 
troops  to  the  borderland  of  Manchuria,  and 
promising  soon  to  withdraw  them.  But  she 
has  made  her  hold  there  stronger  every  day. 
Fully  a  year  ago,  at  the  very  time  when  Rus- 
sia had  bound  herself  to  evacuate,  we  were 
told  that  the  military  officers  were  bringing 
even  their  wives  and  children  to  the  stations, 
"and  the  building  of  permanent  barracks 
goes  on  without  relaxation."  Mr.  J.  Sloat 
Fassett  now  informs  us  that  Russia  has 
spent  more  on  the  development  of  Man-  ' 
churia  than  England  spent  on  the  whole 
Boer  war. 

It  must  always  be  remembered  that  the 
Russians,  like  the  Chinese,  are  essentially 

307 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

Oriental.  It  was  only  three  hundred  years 
ago  that  they  hegan  to  have  any  intercourse 
with  Western  Europe ;  and  their  intercourse 
has  since  been  marked  by  a  steady  career  of 
conquest.  They  are  even  Oriental  in  their 
spiritual  sympathies.  The  so-called  Chris- 
tianity of  Russia  is  a  religion  very  different 
from  our  own.  It  is  not  without  significance 
that  it  is  known  as  the  "  Eastern"  Church. 
Very  early  in  the  Christian  era  did  this 
breach  begin  to  appear  between  the  churches 
of  the  East  and  the  West — a  division  which 
inhered  in  the  nature  of  things.  Upon  these 
diverging  faiths  as  a  basis,  divergent  civili- 
zations have  been  reared;  so  that  Russia, 
building  upon  a  religion  that  was  Oriental  in 
its  origin,  has  remained  Oriental  to  the  end. 
As  Mr.  A.  Maurice  Low  expresses  it,  "  The 
Russian  is  at  heart  an  Oriental  veneered  by 
Western  civilization,  with  a  natural  leaning 
towards  his  origin.  It  is  easier,  far  easier, 
for  the  Russian  to  revert  to  his  original  type 
and  become  an  Oriental  than  it  is  for  him  to 
be  in  sympathy  with  Western  nations." 
And  "  many  scientific  observers  believe  that 
if  Russia  is  given  unrestricted  sway  and  per- 
mitted to  become  the  hegemon  of  Asia,  in 
the  course  of  time  the  Asiatic  will  be  ab- 

308 


GATES   OF   ASIA 

sorbed  into  the  Russian  and  a  new  mixed 
race  will  be  the  resulting  product."  If 
that  day  shall  ever  come,  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race  will  straightway  make  its  exit,  and 
Napoleon's  prophecy  of  Russia's  universal 
dominion  will  be  fulfilled.  The  issue, 
therefore,  is  clearly  joined.  Russia's  aims 
towards  China  are  positive  and  aggressive. 
The  aim  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  nations  is 
rather  negative  and  defensive, — not  so  much 
the  possession  of  Chinese  custodianship  for 
themselves  as  to  keep  it  away  from  Russia, 
on  the  principle  of  self-preservation.  It  is  a 
great  and  fateful  game  that  the  nations  to- 
day are  playing  on  the  chess-board  of  the 
world. 

Russia  has  colossal  astuteness,  but  the 
fault  of  the  colossal  is  that  it  despises  the 
little.  Russia's  supreme  mistake  has  been 
that  she  has  despised  and  underrated  Japan. 
Her  attitude  towards  this  little  empire  has, 
until  very  recently,  been  that  of  contemptu- 
ous condescension.  And  this  makes  precisely 
the  smart  that  Japan  can  never  forget  or 
forgive.  The  Japanese  hatred  for  this  huge 
enemy  is  bitter  beyond  all  belief.  And  the 
scheme  of  opposition  has  meant  the  quiet  in- 
gratiation  of  herself  with  China,  that  Rus- 

309 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

sia's  unblushing  courtship  might  be  secretly 
foiled.  There  are  signs  that  Japan  has  not 
failed.  For  example,  Japan  has  become  the 
Chinese  educational  JNIecca.  "It  is  the 
fashion  nowadays,"  said  the  North  China 
Herald  last  spring,  "  for  Chinese  of  all  ranks 
and  professions  to  go  to  Japan  if  they  want 
to  learn  anything."  There  were  then  fifteen 
hundred  Chinese  students  in  the  various 
schools  of  Japan,  including  two  hundred 
non-commissioned  officers  undergoing  mili- 
tary training  in  Tokyo.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Chinese  have  been  entirely  unwilling  to 
go  for  their  education  to  Russia.  "  Add  to 
this  the  fact  that  Japanese  is  now  the  official 
language  in  the  Peking  University,  that  the 
Chinese  government  is  going  to  engage  a 
Japanese  adviser  on  International  Law,  that 
Japanese  educators  are  being  introduced 
throughout  the  whole  country,  that  Japanese 
scholars  have  been  engaged  for  the  compila- 
tion of  a  new  code  of  laws, — and  you  have 
strong  indications  that  if  war  were  to  take 
place  between  Russia  and  Japan,  China's 
sympathies  w^ould  be  with  the  latter,"  wrote 
a  deep  student  of  the  East  a  month  or  two 
ago.  And  have  not  her  ablest  statesmen 
now  begun  to  intimate  the  fulfilment  of  this 

310 


GATES   OF   ASIA 

prophecy,  in  their  most  recent  press  dis- 
patches? It  is  my  own  most  steadfast  con- 
viction that  Japan  has  the  secret  sympathy  of 
China,  and  that  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  would  be  well  advised  in  favoring  an 
alliance  with  her  as  against  Russia;  for 
China  is  to  be  reached,  I  believe,  best  through 
the  mediation  of  Japan,  and  therefore  it  is 
no  mere  figure  of  speech  to  call  this  little 
empire  the  gate  of  Asia. 

But,  when  China  has  been  reached,  what 
is  to  be  done  with  China?  What  measures 
can  be  taken  that  wdll  ensure  a  harmonious 
relationship  w4th  the  West?  This  question 
is  answered  when  we  ask  what  it  is  that  con- 
stitutes the  common  bond  of  the  people  of 
the  Occident,  and  find  that  it  is  the  tie  of 
religion.  It  is  not  pertinent  to  object  at 
this  point  that  the  religion  of  the  nations  is 
an  inconsistent  and  even  hypocritical  profes- 
sion. That  may  conceivably  be  true.  But 
this  does  not  affect  the  undoubted  fact  that 
religion,  and  religion  alone,  apart  from  re- 
mote ethnical  ties,  is  the  one  common  bond 
that  links  America  and  England  and  Ger- 
many, and  even  France  and  Italy  and  Spain, 
into  a  certain  unity  of  thought  and  action  to 

311 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

which  the  j^eople  of  the  Orient  are  alien. 
You  cannot  otherwise  classify  Western 
lands  than  as  so-called  "  Christian"  nations, 
whose  tie  is  the  "Western"  Church.  Re- 
ligion is  the  only  adequate  brotherhood,  the 
universal  equalizer  of  ideals  and  conduct. 
In  all  ages  it  has  had  more  power  over  the 
minds  of  men  than  any  other  single  influ- 
ence. During  the  passage  of  years  it  must 
inevitably  mold  the  national  as  well  as  the 
individual  character.  And  so  if  China  is  to 
be  brought  into  an  identity  of  spirit  with  the 
West,  so  that  she  may  live  on  terms  of  intel- 
ligent peace  with  the  nations  of  the  West, 
the  transformation  must  proceed  from 
within;  the  same  spiritual  influence  must  be 
applied  to  her  that  has  been  applied  to  these. 
There,  if  you  please,  is  what  might  be  called 
the  political  argument  for  missions. 

And,  again,  I  insist  that  the  key  to  China 
need  only  be  large  enough  to  fit  the  small 
door  of  Japan.  Japan,  not  Russia,  is  the 
gate  from  the  West  into  Asia.  Close  racial 
kinship  with  China  has  stood  Japan  in  good 
stead.  It  must  needs  be  a  strong  bond,  in- 
deed, that  leads  a  huge  nation  to  seek  the  in- 
struction of  a  pygmy  that  has  just  chastised 
her ;  but  China  seeks  the  tutelage  of  Japan. 

313 


GATES   OF  ASIA 

And,  strangely  enough,  the  tutelage  of 
Japan  is  "Western."  The  Mongolian  of 
Japan  has  stronger  Western  sympathies 
than  the  Slav  of  Russia.  These  sympathies 
extend  even  to  his  religion.  The  "  Eastern" 
Church  of  the  Slav  has  had  scant  success  in 
Japan,  as  compared  with  the  churches  of  the 
West.  Russia  has  built  her  great  cathedral 
on  a  commanding  hill  in  the  capital,  and  sent 
out  the  great  missionary,  Nicolai,  who  in 
strength  has  been  second  only  to  Verbeck; 
but  Japan  has  turned  from  the  magnificent 
"Eastern"  cathedral  to  the  quiet  little 
chapels  of  the  West,  and  Nicolai  has  scarcely 
possessed  a  fraction  of  the  power  and  pres- 
tige of  Verbeck.  Christianity,  whether  it 
come  from  Russia  or  America,  is  still  in  its 
origin  and  essence  Oriental ;  but  in  the  latter 
case  it  has  gone  forth  in  its  natural  orbit,  and 
returns  into  Asia  enriched  by  the  treasures 
of  the  lands  it  has  touched  in  its  circuit. 
Japan  has  stretched  forth  her  hand  for  our 
civilization,  and  the  form  of  religion  she 
chooses  ought  naturally  to  be  that  whereon 
her  chosen  civilization  has  been  founded. 
The  signs  of  the  times  plainly  indicate  that 
such  is  to  be  the  case. 


313 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

So  will  the  cycle  of  history  be  completed. 
So  is  missionary  work  in  Japan  invested  with 
intense  human  interest.  Japan  is  the  gate 
to  Asia.  And  as  the  light  shone  out  from 
Palestine  two  thousand  years  ago,  so  now 
we  see  this  other  gate  swdng  inward,  that  the 
orbit  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  may  be 
complete.  "He  walketh  in  the  circuit  of 
the  heavens."  "  For  as  the  lightning  cometh 
out  of  the  east,  and  shineth  even  unto  the 
west,  so  also  shall  the  coming  of  the  Son  of 
Man  be." 

Now  that  the  bloody  seeds  of  war  have 
actually  been  sown,  what  shall  the  harvest 
be?  That  is  the  question  uppermost  in  every 
thoughtful  mind.  No  man  can  answxr  it. 
One  shudders  at  the  possibilities  of  the  ques- 
tion. Suppose  that  Germany,  with  her 
strenuous  "war-lord,"  with  her  sympathies 
quickened  in  behalf  of  her  noble  and  majes- 
tic kinswoman,  the  beautiful,  sad  Czarina; 
wdth  her  interests  stirred  for  her  large  Shan- 
tung possessions  in  China,  and  with  an 
erroneous,  but  natural,  interpretation  of 
the  so-called  "  yellow  peril," — suppose  that 
Germany  concludes  to  "  make  a  diversion  in 
behalf  of  Russia  that  shall  have  world-wide 

314 


GATES   OF  ASIA 

consequences,"  as  has  already  been  intimated 
from  Berlin?  Or  suppose  that  the  excitable 
French,  misled  by  their  dubious  alliance  with 
the  Czar,  should  throw  themselves  into  a 
quixotic  leap-to-arms  against  the  little  yel- 
low soldiers  of  the  East?  Or  suppose  that 
England,  whose  naval  forces  are  already  in 
a  state  of  alert,  but  quiet,  preparedness,  who 
is  jealous  of  Russian  encroachments  against 
India,  and  who  has  recently  entangled  her- 
self afresh  in  the  Far  Eastern  situation  by 
her  strange  expedition  against  Thibet, — sup- 
pose that  England,  whose  nominal  alliance 
Japan  secured  several  years  ago  as  an  offset 
to  the  Russo -French  alliance,  should  commit 
some  overt  act  that  would  make  this  union 
with  Japan  not  only  nominal,  but  actual? 
Or,  suppose  the  most  imminent  danger  of  all, 
that  Russia,  frantic  to  cover  the  shame  of  a 
feared  defeat  at  the  hands  of  a  small  Asiatic 
power  with  the  smoke  of  a  larger  war,  shall 
succeed  by  hook  or  by  crook  in  seducing  some 
other  nation  to  w^ork  her  terrible  will — what 
then?  From  such  disaster  may  the  "  God  of 
Battles"  save  this  war-cursed  world.  The  fire 
which  now  burns  in  the  East  would  spread  as 
quickly  all  throughout  the  West  as  when  the 

red  rising  sun  suddenly  shoots  above  the  east- 
sis 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

ern  horizon  and  kindles  the  whole  world  into 
flame !  But  if  the  neutral  nations  shall  con- 
tinue to  exercise  that  remarkable  and  noble 
self-restraint  that  they  have  manifested  dur- 
ing the  past  few  years,  under  circumstances 
almost  as  trying  as  these  are,  and  shall  leave 
Japan  and  Russia  to  "  fight  it  out,"  with 
Korea  as  the  ostensible  bone  of  contention, 
but  with  the  huge  booty  of  China  as  the 
secret  ultimate  prize, — what  then  shall  be  the 
result? 

I  am  neither  a  prophet  nor  the  son  of  a 
prophet,  but  I  am  nevertheless  led  to  believe 
that  if  Russia  and  Japan  are  left  unmolested 
in  this  w^ar,  the  neutral  nations  only  seeing 
that  they  give  fair  play,  then  the  chances  are, 
perhaps,  with  the  pygmy  as  against  the  giant. 
Why?    Chiefly  for  the  following  reasons: 

1.  Japan  is  ready,  whereas  Russia  is  un- 
prepared for  war.  In  the  year  1894,  when 
Japan  concluded  her  war  with  China,  and 
Russia,  backed  by  France  and  Germany, 
coolly  proceeded  to  deprive  her  of  her  booty 
(that  very  peninsula  which  is  now  the  chief 
arena  of  the  struggle,  with  Port  Arthur  as 
its  key) ,  I  was  in  the  educational  employ  of 
the  Imperial  Japanese  Government.  As 
such,  it  became  my  duty  to  be  present  at  the 

316 


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B 
P 

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3 


<  ( 


GATES   OF   ASIA 

various  meetings  held  in  Saga  to  celebrate 
the  victory  over  China.  Every  address  had 
the  same  key-note:  Revenge.  ''La  Re- 
vanche'' does  not  mean  one-hundredth  part 
as  much  to  the  patriotic  Frenchman,  think- 
ing of  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  as  "  Revenge" 
has  meant  during  the  last  ten  years  to  every 
Japanese,  who  has  thought  all  the  time 
of  Liaotung  and  Port  Arthur.  And  they 
have  steadily  prepared  to  make  their  revenge 
a  reality.  Every  cent  of  the  enormous 
Chinese  indemnity  went  immediately  to  the 
strengthening  of  an  already  competent 
navy,  and  to  this  sum  millions  of  dollars 
have  been  added  by  the  political  champions 
of  an  aggressive  naval  armament,  on  which 
point  all  Japanese  legislators,  however 
divided  concerning  other  questions,  have 
invariably  been  as  one  man.  Russia,  on  the 
other  hand,  has  sneered.  As  I  said  just  now, 
the  mistake  of  the  colossal  is  to  despise  the 
little,  as  David  was  despised  by  Goliath. 
Russian  officers  have  told  their  soldiers  that 
the  Japanese  are  "  a  race  of  monkeys,"  who 
cannot  fight.  And  I  have  conversed  fre- 
quently with  Russian  diplomatists  familiar 
with  the  situation  in  the  East.  When  I 
would  ask  them  what  they  thought  of  Japan 

317 


r 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

as  an  enemy,  the  reply  has  always  been,  in 
substance,  the  typical  answer  which  I  re- 
ceived from  the  strongest  Russian  diplomat 
whom  I  have  known.  With  his  little  finger 
he  flicked  the  ash  from  the  tip  of  his  big 
cigar,  and  said :  ''  That  is  what  we  think  of 
Japan."  Consequently,  Russia  was  not 
ready.  She  never  really  expected  that  war 
would  come.  Alexieff,  and  even  the  peaceful 
Czar,  complained  with  an  almost  ludicrous 
pathos,  on  the  10th  of  February,  that  the 
Japanese  came  at  them  before  they  were 
ready.  If  it  be  true  of  coin  that  "he  gives 
twice  who  gives  quickly,"  it  is  still  more  true 
of  blows.  And  Japan  is  not  only  prepared 
with  quick  offensive  measures,  but  she  has 
also  been  swift  and  thorough  to  defend.  I 
know  from  personal  examination  somewhat 
of  the  thorough  defences  of  the  entire  coast- 
line of  Japan.  The  Russian  fleet  has  com- 
plained that  snow-storms  have  kept  them 
from  shelling  Hakodate.  I  suspect  that  the 
snow  which  they  feared  was  the  upward  fiery 
snow  of  thickly-planted  submarine  mines. 

2.  The  brilliant  initial  victories  of  Japan 
will  tend  to  impair  the  foreign  credit  of  Rus- 
sia. Dr.  Albert  Shaw,  one  of  the  best  in- 
formed men  in  America  on  the  foreign  situa- 

318 


GATES   OF   ASIA 

tion,  wrote  in  his  journal  a  few  weeks  before 
the  war  opened  that  if  Japan  could  only 
force  the  fighting  on  Russia,  and  gain  a  suc- 
cession of  swift,  brilliant  victories  on  the  sea, 
Russia  would  be  terribly  hampered,  because 
her  sinews  of  war  w^ould  be  cut, — namely, 
her  reliance  on  foreign  loans.  But,  he 
added,  Japan  will  scarcely  be  able  to  force 
the  fighting,  for  the  Russian  ships  are  shut 
up  in  impregnable  harbors,  where  she  will 
quietly  keep  them,  while  Japan  fumes  and 
frets  outside.  Japan,  however,  entered  the 
impregnable  harbors,  and  accomplished  the 
feat  which  Dr.  Shaw  declared  would  cut  the 
Russian  sinews  of  war. 

3.  Japan  is  fighting  near  at  home,  while 
Russia  will  be  hampered  in  maintaining  con- 
nection between  her  various  and  difficult 
bases  of  supply.  The  Japanese  know  every 
foot  of  the  waters  they  are  fighting  in,  and 
are  also  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  land. 
For  many  months  they  have  had  spies,  dis- 
guised as  Chinese  coolies,  and  speaking  the 
Chinese  dialects,  working  along  the  line  of 
the  Siberian  Railway.  Already  bridges  have 
been  cut,  and  there  will  surelv  be  more  to  f  ol- 
low.  It  is  equally  easy  to  embarrass  the 
Russian    attempt    to    maintain    connection 

319 


JAPAN   TO-DAY 

between  the  naval  bases  of  sup]3ly.  Japan, 
on  the  other  hand,  has  her  stores  and  repah* 
shops  at  her  elbow.  When  a  Japanese  ad- 
miral is  embarrassed,  he  just  trips  over  to 
Sasebo,  and,  after  breakfasting,  so  to  sjDeak, 
like  Dewey,  he  is  ready  for  the  war  again. 

4.  For  these  and  for  other  reasons  the  re- 
sources of  Japan  are  far  more  easily  con- 
vertible, and  far  more  quickly  mobilized, 
than  those  of  Russia.  Russia  is  unwieldy; 
Japan  is  agile  and  alert.  Russia  is  embar- 
rassed by  her  very  bigness.  And,  w^iile 
having  more  than  fifty  times  the  territory 
of  Japan,  she  has  only  thrice  her  population. 
Russia  has  been  like  some  misguided  farmer, 
who,  instead  of  cultivating  the  home  farm, 
has  spent  all  his  substance  always  for  more 
land,  more  land.  Russia  is  diffuse,  un- 
developed, crude.  Japan  is  concentrated 
energy. 

5.  Japan  is  upheld  by  national  support, 
Russia  is  hindered  by  a  national  apathy. 
Japan  did  not  need  to  make  a  foreign  loan  at 
the  outset.  Her  request  for  a  hundred  million 
dollars  was  quickly  covered  four  times  over  by 
her  own  people,  coolies  vicing  with  capitalists 
in  their  contributions.  But  newspaper  corre- 
spondents in  Russia  have  reported  absolutely 

320 


GATES   OF   ASIA 

no  responsiveness  on  the  part  of  the  people 
to  this  war,  until  very  recently,  when  there  is 
strong  reason  to  suspect  that  "  the  enthusi- 
asm of  the  masses"  has  been  manufactured. 
We  foreigners  have  come  to  think  of  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  Russian  commoner,  when 
he  has  any,  as  an  enthusiasm  for  bombs  to  be 
used  at  home. 

6.  The  patriotism  of  the  Japanese,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  a  frenzy,  a  passion,  a  religion, 
a  fanatical  abandonment  and  absorption  of 
his  whole  being  in  his  country's  cause.  It  is 
impossible  to  exaggerate  the  intenseness  of 
Japanese  patriotism.  It  is  taught  from 
babyhood  as  the  quintessence  of  morality, 
and  it  is  practised  as  the  highest  virtue  of 
manhood.  Japan,  during  all  of  her  history, 
has  never  been  successfully  invaded;  and  I 
fear  that  should  this  ever  be  done,  no  vic- 
tory could  be  achieved  short  of  complete 
extermination,  just  as  when  Titus  invaded 
Jerusalem.  Indeed,  the  only  perfect  parallel 
in  history  for  the  extreme  nationalism  of  the 
Japanese  is  offered  by  the  Jewish  nation- 
alists against  whom  Titus  fought. 

7.  Finally,  this  war  is,  with  Japan,  a  sheer 
struggle  for  existence,  whereas  it  is  with 
Russia  a  mere  struggle  for  more  territory, 

21  321 


JAPAN    TO-DAY 

Ever  since  the  bear  put  down  his  heavy  paw 
upon  the  Liaotung  Peninsula  and  withheld 
it  from  its  owner  he  has  been  pushing 
stealthily  forward  against  this  despised,  but 
presumptuous,  little  foe.  Not  until  the 
wisest  of  the  Japanese  statesmen  perceived 
that  Korea  would  meet  the  fate  of  Liaotung 
did  they  yield  to  the  national  desire  for  war. 
For  they  were  fully  alive  to  the  serious  issues 
involved  in  a  war  with  Russia,  and  were  ex- 
tremely anxious  to  avoid  it  if  they  could. 
But  they  knew  that  the  integrity  of  Korea 
is  absolutely  essential  to  Japan's  existence. 
"  Korea  in  Russian  hands  means  a  dagger 
pointed  at  the  heart  of  Japan."  JNIoreover, 
the  Russian  encroachments  in  Korea  were 
but  a  step,  as  they  perceived,  in  Russia's 
constant  advance, — in  line  with  a  consistent 
endeavor  to  hem  the  Island  Empire  in  on 
every  side,  until  finally  the  bear  might  crush 
out  the  very  life  of  the  little  nation  wdth 
one  mighty,  comprehensive  embrace.  If 
ever  in  history  a  nation  has  been  driven  to 
bay,  that  is  the  case  with  Japan.  But  she 
had  been  expecting  it,  and  was  prepared  for 
it  with  a  thoroughness  that  has  astonished 
the  world.  The  world  was  surprised  when 
Japan    conquered    China.      And,    notwith- 

322 


GATES    OF   ASIA 

standing  the  immense  power  of  Russia,  I 
think  it  is  not  without  the  bounds  of  possi- 
bihty  that  the  world  shall  be  surprised  still 
further,  in  view  of  all  of  the  considerations 
that  have  just  been  named. 

If  Japan  conquer,  what  then?  Paradoxi- 
cal as  it  may  seem,  I  persist  in  believing 
that  this  will  mean  the  salvation  of  China, 
the  triumph  of  the  West  in  the  East,  the 
supremacy  of  Saxon  over  Slav,  and  of  Chris- 
tianity over  paganism.  War  is  terrible.  But 
wlien  it  comes,  then  it  behooves  us  to  study 
conditions  carefully,  and  bestow  our  sym- 
pathy where  it  is  deserved.  The  Japanese 
are  by  no  means  an  ideal  people.  One  dreads 
in  particular  to  contemplate  their  overween- 
ing conceit  in  case  of  the  defeat  of  Russia! 
But  in  this  case  Japan  has  right  upon  her 
side,  and,  besides,  she  is  building  far  more 
widely  and  more  deeply  than  she  knows.  The 
foundations  of  this  war  touch  the  very  vitals 
of  the  world;  it  has  consequences  of  pro- 
found importance  for  you  and  me.  For  the 
solidarity  of  the  race  is  a  fact  accomplished. 
What  is  done  in  the  East  affects  us  here  in 
the  West.  The  Russo-Japanese  war  is  a 
w^orld-problem.  Who  shall  hold  the  key  to 
the  Orient? 

323 


FORWARD 

By  MISS  LINA  BOEGLI 

With  portraits.     Crown  8vo.     Decorated  cloth,  gilt  top, 

$2.00,  net. 


Miss  Boegli  wanted  to  see  the  world  and  had  no  money  to  see  it 
with.  But  she  had  a  stout  heart,  a  good  education,  and  the  ability 
to  adapt  herself  to  circumstance.  With  these  weapons  at  her  com- 
mand she  set  forth  to  travel  in  foreign  countries.  She  was  alone  and 
had  no  very  definite  plan  of  proceeding  ;  but,  in  one  way  or  another — 
and  she  earned  her  way  everywhere — she  managed  to  encircle  the 
globe.  What  she  experienced,  what  she  saw,  and  what  she  heard 
she  has  recorded  in  her  narrative. 

*'  Her  record  is  one  of  the  brightest  books  of  travel  published  this 
season." — S^.  Louis  Globe- Democrat. 

"There  is  a  personal  charm  about  the  book  that  is  fetching." — 
Philadelphia  Inquirer. 

•'  Miss  Boegli  has  written  a  unique  diary.  The  naivete  is  delight- 
ful. Her  brain  seems  like  a  kodak.  One  of  the  most  graphic  reports 
of  the  incidents  of  a  wonderful  journey  I  have  ever  had  the  pleasure 
of  reading." — Charles  Frederic  Goss,  Cincinnati,  O. 

**Miss  Boegli's  cheeriness  and  optimism  and  facility  of  expression 
make  this  record  of  her  observations  and  experiences  in  many  lands 
exceptionally  pleasant  reading." — New  York  Outlook. 

'•  It  is  a  very  interesting  work,  causing  the  reader  to  follow  sympa- 
thetically the  adventures  of  the  lone  voyager  through  her  sojournings  in 
foreign  lands.  In  turn  she  visited  Australia,  New  Zealand,  Samoa, 
Hawaii,  and  the  United  States,  "paying  her  way"  as  a  teacher  of 
French,  finding  many  obstacles,  but  overcoming  them  all  with  a 
splendid  optimism.  Many  and  varied  are  the  glimpses  she  gives  us 
of  faraway  lands.  Perhaps  most  interesting  of  all  are  her  pictures  of 
Samoa." — New  York  Tribune. 


J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY,    PHILADELPHIA. 


ON    HOLY    GROUND 

By  rev.  WILLIAM   L.  WORCESTER 


8vo.       Decorated  cloth.       Illustrated.      4^2  pages. 
$J.oo,    net.      Postage,  J2  cents  extra. 


An  exceptionally  fine  religious  gift-book  for  young 
people.  A  series  of  Bible  stories  are  given,  and 
each  introduced  by  Dr.  Worcester,  who  has  been  a 
Bible  teacher  for  over  twenty  years,  and  whose  ex- 
tended travels  in  the  Holy  Land  has  enabled  him 
to  secure  a  large  number  of  special  photographs 
(over    300    in    all)    which    are    reproduced. 

The  book  is  printed  on  fine  enamelled  paper  in 
clear    type,   and    handsomely    bound. 

*'  This  is  a  book  that  every  young 
person  should  have  in  his  or  her  posses- 
sion. It  is  also  one  that  will  appeal 
specially  to  Sunday-school  teachers  as  well 
as  to  scholars." — Chicago  Advaiice. 

*'  The  pictures  alone  would  make  the 
book  remarkable,  for  they  constitute  the 
finest  collection  of  views  of  the  Holy 
Land  we  have  ever  seen  in  black  and 
white. ' '  —  Chicago  Tribune. 


J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT    COMPANY,    PHILADELPHIA 


JAPAN  TO-DAY 

By   JAMES    A.   B.  SCHERER,   PH.D. 

With  28  illustrations  (two  in  colors)  from  photographs  and 
prints  by  native  artists.      i2mo.     Decorated  cloth, 

$1.50,  net. 

"An  exceedingly  well-written,  bright,  and  timely  book,  worth 
careful  consideration,  as  it  is  more  than  a  traveller's  tale  of  strange 
scenes  and  people." — The  Philadelphia  Evening  Telegraph. 

*'  Dr.  Scherer's  observations  on  the  social  life  of  the  Japanese,  and 
especially  on  their  system  of  modern  education,  are  as  valuable  as 
they  are  bright  and  optimistic." — The  Brooklyn  Daily  Eagle. 

"Full  of  the  most  delightful  humor.  We  are  grateful  to  Dr. 
Scherer  for  adding  materially  to  the  knowledge  of  those  who  are 
dependent  upon  others  for  first-hand  impressions  of  the  Japanese."  — 
Providence  Journal. 

"  Gives  the  clearest,  most  rational  explanation  of  the  Japanese  as 
they  are,  of  any  book  that  we  have  read." — Buffalo  Commercial. 


PRESENT-DAY  JAPAN 

By  AUGUSTA  M.  CAMPBELL  DAVIDSON,  M.A. 

Colored  frontispiece  and  73  illustrations.     Decorated  cloth, 

$4.50,  net. 

'*The  materials  for  this  book  were  gathered  in  the  course  of  a 
lengthy  visit  to  Japan,  during  which  the  author  associated  chiefly  with 
Japanese,  and  enjoyed  exceptional  opportunities  of  observing  present 
social  conditions.  The  book  is  written  in  a  bright  and  picturesque 
style,  and  records  with  the  vividness  natural  to  freshly-received  im- 
pressions the  writer's  own  experiences  of  travel  and  intercourse  with 
the  natives.  It  contains  descriptions  of  town  and  country  customs, 
sketches  of  present-day  life  and  character  in  Tokyo  and  elsewhere,  of 
the  scenery  of  famous  places,  with  their  legends  and  associations,  of 
the  drama  of  the  nation,  and  of  its  religious  creeds,  etc.  ;  and  is  pro- 
fusely illustrated  by  photographs  and  drawings  made  by  the  author. 


J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT    COMPANY,   PHILADELPHIA. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   MOORISH 
EMPIRE    IN    EUROPE 

By  S.  P.  SCOTT 

3  volumes.      Royal  8vo.       Decorated  cloth,  gilt  tops,  rough 

edges,  $io.oo  per  set. 


A  scholarly  and  comprehensive  review  of  one  of  the 
most  interesting  and  influential  periods  in  European  history. 
Mr.  Scott  lived  for  some  time  in  Spain,  and  he  has  approached 
his  subject  with  the  deliberation  and  exhaustive  study  which 
give  his  discussion  the  poise  and  coherence  that  are  the  attri- 
butes only  of  the  most  distinguished  of  historical  writing.  The 
examination  of  original  manuscripts  and  other  material  occu- 
pied the  author  for  twenty  years  ;  and  the  work  depicts  the 
civilization  of  a  race  whose  achievements  in  science,  litera- 
ture, and  the  arts  were  an  inspiration. 

"  With  its  tremendous  list  of  authorities  in  many  languages, 
its  all-inclusive  conception  of  the  province  of  history,  his 
work  has  the  crowning  advantage  of  being  ever  vivid,  and 
therefore  unflaggingly  interesting." — Mail  and  Express. 

"There  is  no  other  work  covering  the  period  of  Moorish 
dominion  in  Europe  in  anything  approaching  an  adequate 
manner — certainly  nothing  in  English  which  makes  a  pre- 
tense at  completeness."  —  The  New  York  Globe. 

"  With  a  rare  gift  in  the  selection  of  the  chapters  of  history 
which  are  most  filled  with  'human  interest,'  Mr.  Scott  has 
also  a  peculiar  charm  of  style — a  certain  keenness  which  has 
served  to  make  the  events  of  a  distant  past  fascinating.  The 
history  of  the  Moorish  people  in  Europe,  as  he  presents  it,  is 
infinitely  more  absorbing  and  ever  exciting  than  any  chapter 
of  fiction  ever  written."  —  T/ie  San  Fra7icisco  Bulletin. 


J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT    COMPANY,  PHILADELPHIA. 


STAMPED  BELOW 


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